Twas the night before Christmas 2017 Steel buyers were happy All nestled in their beds No thoughts of turmoil running about in their heads Little did they know Little did they dread 2018 was staring at them While dreams of sugar plums danced in their heads The last three months saw prices move […]
So, we have our service center inventories at 2.5 months of supply, down slightly from the 2.6 months we got from our distributor data suppliers the previous month. This is not from our survey; we decided to put that data aside as it was suspect – it had both buyers and sellers contributing to the […]
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 […]
Worthington Industries reported net sales of $958.2 million for its fiscal 2019 second quarter ended Nov. 30, a 10 percent increase over the same quarter in fiscal 2018. However, its quarterly earnings were not as strong. Operating income totaled $35.9 million, a decrease of $16.2 million from the prior-year quarter. “I am pleased with the […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive members in this issue. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has declined by $25.33 per barrel since Oct. 3. The price of natural gas is surging. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate […]
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 […]
Tenaris, a global manufacturer and distributor of energy tubular products, has begun the second phase of its service center expansion in Midland, Texas. The project will add pipe and tube storage and service capabilities for customers in the Permian basin and other key shale plays across the U.S. Phase 2 consists of several stages of […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Yesterday in New York, an important argument took place in the Court of International Trade. I observed that argument and will give you my impressions. The case was brought by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) and […]
Demand remains strong in the manufacturing sector, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI, from the Institute for Supply Management, increased 1.6 percentage points to 59.3 in November. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion. New orders rose 4.7 points to 61.1, well above the 52.4 percent value that indicates growth. […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined slightly week over week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 3 to 1,076, with oil rigs up 2 to 887 rigs, gas rigs down 5 to 189 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs […]
November saw steel prices continue to decline, with benchmark hot rolled dipping below $800 per ton, cold rolled below $900 per ton, and galvanized below $1,000 per ton. Plate continued to hold its own at over $1,000 per ton as mills kept customers on allocation while they worked to meet strong demand. Steel Market Update […]
Both Steel Market Update and the CRU Group forecast lower steel prices next year. With a new North America free trade agreement soon to be signed, the U.S. is likely to lift or modify the Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico, opening the borders to more imports and adding to the downward pressure on […]
Nucor is increasing its presence in Mexico with the acquisition of Corporacion POK, a fully integrated precision castings company with a facility in Guadalajara. “Our company has had a presence in Mexico for more than a decade. We know the market and the customers there. This acquisition supports Nucor’s strategy in Mexico, which is focused […]
Editor’s note: Following is an edited excerpt from the 2019 Gulf Coast Energy Outlook published by Louisiana State University’s Center for Energy Studies and the E. J. Ourso College of Business. The past two decades have seen a dramatic change in the energy landscape along the Gulf Coast with the “revolution” created by unconventional gas […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce has released import license data for the months of October and November through the 13th of the month. October foreign steel imports are expected to reach 3 million net tons on the back of almost 900,000 net tons of semi-finished steels (mostly slabs going to the domestic steel mills). It […]
The Keystone XL pipeline, which was given the go-ahead by an executive order from President Trump, has been blocked once again by a federal judge in Montana, who ruled that the administration had not considered all the potential impacts of the project as required by law. The decision could further stall the controversial pipeline, which […]
Economic activity expanded across the United States with the majority of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts reporting modest to moderate growth in the September-October period, according to the Fed’s Beige Book released late last month. However, several Districts indicated that firms faced rising materials and shipping costs, uncertainties over the trade environment and difficulties finding […]
Toronto-based Russel Metals reported “stellar” results for its third quarter, attributing the company’s success to a high steel price environment and improved demand in all three of its business segments: service centers, energy products and steel distributors. Trade actions by government authorities have increased steel prices, which has benefited both producers and distributors. However, these […]
Oil and gas companies, and their steel suppliers, were relieved to learn late Tuesday that Proposition 112 failed to get enough support among the voters who cast ballots in Colorado. The highly contentious measure, which pitted the energy industry against anti-fracking environmentalists, failed by a 57-43 percent margin. Proposition 112 would have more than doubled […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, declined slightly week over week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 1 to 1,067, with oil rigs down 1 to 874 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 193 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: When is a product from Japan instead of China? Turns out, it depends on why you’re asking. For purposes of the required “marking” of imported products, U.S. Customs and Border Protection decides whether a product composed of several […]
Except for plate, which held its own at around $1,000 a ton, steel prices generally weakened further in October, continuing a decline that began this summer. Steel Market Update data in the table below shows that the benchmark hot rolled coil price dipped below $800 per ton after sliding by about $45 during the month. […]
Construction spending hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.329 trillion and grew 5.5 percent for nine months of 2018, with continued year-to-date gains for major public and private categories, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that while demand for construction should remain […]
Manufacturing activity continues to be strong, according to the latest ISM Report on Business, although slowing its pace of growth as it enters the fourth quarter. The October PMI declined 2.1 percentage points from September to register 57.7 percent. Most of the components of the PMI are trending at a slower rate. The new orders […]
Construction spending hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.329 trillion and grew 5.5 percent for nine months of 2018, with continued year-to-date gains for major public and private categories, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that while demand for construction should remain […]
With oil and gas prices rising, the nation’s shale plays, particularly the Permian Basin, are struggling with costly bottlenecks as drillers try to pump more crude and natural gas than the existing pipelines can handle. Energy companies are committing billions to new and expanded pipelines over the next several years, which represents a major opportunity […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released updated foreign steel import data for September and October yesterday, with the September figure down to 2.2 million tons and the October trend remaining over 3 million tons. Prior to this week, the September total was hovering around 2.7 million to 2.9 million net tons. Our October trend is […]
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 […]
Voters who go to the polls in Colorado next month will consider Proposition 112, a measure with serious implications for the energy industry in their state, and beyond. “If this passes, not only will it devastate our economy, but also the economies of surrounding states,” an executive from a steel fabricator in Denver told Steel […]
In the last month, the U.S. dollar has weakened against seven of the 16 currencies that Steel Market Update tracks. This was close to the performance we reported last month, but a dramatic change from the period May through August when only a few of the 16 appreciated against the dollar (just one in May, […]