The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Chief Market Risk Officer, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison U.S. economic data for December and January are beginning to come in now that the federal government is funded for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. December housing starts showed a weak end to 2018 as the total of 1.247 million units for 2018 was […]
As of Feb. 26, with the month nearly complete, U.S. steel imports were trending at less than 2.5 million tons, based on license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. February imports are likely to finish the month well below January and below the 3- and 12-month moving averages as well. Semi-finished steels continue to […]
In the last month, there has been a positive turnaround of raw materials prices. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through February of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 month/3 month and 12 month/12 month changes and tells us that price movements with the exception of busheling have been […]
Oil production in the U.S. was at an all-time high in October last year and declined only slightly in the latest data for November. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has recovered somewhat from its recent low of $44.48 on Dec. 27. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) FOB Cushing, Okla., […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 4 to 1,047, with oil rigs down 4 and gas rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the 1,047 count is up […]
This morning, Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled from Neutral to Higher. Our Price Momentum Indicator was last adjusted on Jan. 28, 2019, when we moved from Lower to Neutral as the domestic steel mills, led by Nucor, began announcing price increases. It is normal for SMU to adjust our […]
This morning, Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled from Neutral to Higher. Our Price Momentum Indicator was last adjusted on Jan. 28, 2019, when we moved from Lower to Neutral as the domestic steel mills, led by Nucor, began announcing price increases. It is normal for SMU to adjust our […]
February imports are trending high, close to 3 million net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce license data released Feb. 12. However, looking at the data more closely, the domestic steel mills continue to bring in a tremendous amount of semi-finished steels (slabs, billets – but most are slabs). The mills are on pace […]
Earlier this week I was at the Port of Tampa Steel Conference as I was asked to be the master of ceremonies, and I also moderated the two main panels on Wednesday morning. Both panels dealt with trade issues with the primary focus being on the Section 232 tariffs on steel. The Port of Tampa […]
Canadian distributor Russel Metals reported strong financial results for the 2018 fourth quarter and for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, for all three of its operating segments. The company attributed its success to growth in value-added processing and its U.S. energy field stores, as well as an improvement in its average selling price. Russel, […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, increased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 4 to 1,049, with oil rigs up 7 and gas rigs down 3. Compared to this time last year, the 1,049 count is […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released all kinds of foreign steel import data late this afternoon. We are studying the numbers to see if they make sense, as one of the steel mills told SMU late today that the mechanical pipe and some of the other pipe categories appear to be out of whack. In […]
U.S. Steel Corp. plans to restart the No. 1 Electric-Weld Pipe Mill at its Lone Star Tubular Operations—a mill that had been “permanently” idled in 2016 due to the challenging conditions for tubular products created by fluctuating oil prices, reduced rig counts and high levels of imports. “We are encouraged by an improvement in market […]
The manufacturing sector expanded in January following a weak December, according to the latest survey of purchasing managers by the Institute for Supply Management. ISM’s January PMI rose 2.3 points to 56.6 with new orders, production and inventories growing at a faster rate last month. A reading above 50 indicates growth. New Orders led the […]
Key Market Indicators in January, indicators of the present situation, remained strong, but trends deteriorated to the weakest level in two years. This report summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe the state of and provide forward guidance for the steel market. Due to the government shutdown, 13 of the 36 indicators were […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released import license data through the month of December 2018 earlier this week. The December license data is showing a large reduction in semi-finished imports (mostly slabs going to domestic steel mills). SMU believes the lower slab numbers may be due to quotas from Brazil having been reached, thus capping […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, increased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 9 to 1,059, with oil rigs up 10 and gas rigs down 1. Compared to this time last year, the 1,059 count is […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The Court of International Trade (CIT) has rejected the U.S. Commerce Department’s finding that a “particular market situation” justifies steep antidumping margins against South Korean exports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) to the United States. In a […]
Steel Dynamics is excited about its recently announced plans for a new steel mill in the Southwest. After an outstanding year, breaking records for shipments, sales, net income and cash flow, CEO Mark Millett is looking forward to filling a steel void in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. Steel Dynamics hopes to announce a site […]
Phillips 66 Partners, Harvest Midstream Co. and PBF Logistics LP have agreed to jointly develop the ACE Pipeline System in Louisiana, which will move crude oil some 60-80 miles from the market hub in St. James to downstream refining destinations in Belle Chasse, Meraux and Chalmette. The partners may elect to add a delivery destination […]
This article on the competitiveness of steel against other products was originally produced last week for Steel Market Update Premium members. We want our entire readership to review the analysis done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and then analyzed by Peter Wright on our staff. If you would like information about upgrading to Premium […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Chief Market Risk Officer, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil has recovered from its recent low in December. The spot price of WTI FOB Cushing, Okla., recovered to $50.31 on Jan. 14 from its recent low of $44.48 on Dec. 27. WTI had a recent peak on Oct. 3 of $76.40 per barrel. The total number […]
Steel became less competitive in 2018 against aluminum, plastic and wood, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. The cost of carbon cold rolled sheet was up more than twice as much as aluminum sheet, and steel pipe was up by nine times as much as plastic […]
The U.S. dollar has retreated from the last Steel Market Update currency report when it had the highest value on the foreign exchange markets for over 16 years. In the last month, the dollar weakened against 13 of the 16 currencies that Steel Market Update tracks. This was a turnaround from November when it strengthened […]
Sherwin-Williams has announced a 6 percent hike in the cost of paint effective in March, upsetting customers in the prepainted steel and aluminum market. “There is no justification for this paint increase,” said one coil coater. “Oil prices are at their lowest level in years.” Sherwin-Williams raised prices twice last year when oil prices were […]
If the prevailing view in the market proves correct, steel mills will announce a price increase soon—but it won’t stick. Two out of three steel executives responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this past week believe the mills will announce an increase in flat rolled prices by the end of January. But given […]
Perhaps it’s because the year started out with so much promise that the end of 2018 seemed so uninspiring. On balance, most in the steel business would call 2018 a good year, some even a great year. But few look forward to 2019 with the same optimism and confidence they felt a year ago at […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined week over week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 8 to 1,075, with oil rigs down 8 to 877 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 198 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at […]