Even though our Steel Market Update Steel Buyers Sentiment Index dropped 3 points to +62 this week, it is still well within the optimistic range and close to the record high which was set at the beginning of this month. This continued optimism is reflected when looking at Sentiment based on a 3-month moving average […]
Andre Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC has the honors this week to discuss the financial and HRC, iron ore and scrap futures markets in an attempt to make sense out of what can sometimes feel like total chaos. Financial Markets: Well we’re at all time highs again, having hit an intraday on the September S&P […]
The US Department of Commerce released steel import license data through the first 22 days of the month of July. The most recent license data supports our belief that steel imports will meet or exceed the 3.7 million net tons reported for June and could meet or exceed the 4.0 million net tons received during […]
The next shale oil and gas boom could be in Texas according to the estimates of volume of recoverable oil in the Cline Shale formation. More than 30 billion barrels of recoverable oil lie underground in Cline Shale according to studies by Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy. It is estimated there are approximately 3.6 million […]
Explanation of data sources: The broad index is published by the Federal Reserve on both a daily and monthly basis. It is a weighted average of the foreign exchange values of the U.S. dollar against the currencies of a large group of major U.S. trading partners. The index weights, which change over time, are derived […]
According to Baker Hughes data from July 18th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,871 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 4 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 9 to 1,554 rigs, gas rigs up 4 to 315 rigs, […]
Based on a quick analysis of the just released July steel import license data (through the 15th of July) we see the foreign steel imports continuing at very high rates. The import data suggests we will see July imports at levels similar to that of May and June. May had the highest level of imports […]
Big River Steel will break ground on the new 1.6 million ton flat rolled mill some time later this month, according to their Chief Commercial Officer, Mark Bula. Construction of the new flat rolled electric arc furnace mini-mill was delayed for about a year as Big River Steel (BRS) had to wait until all air […]
Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for May 2014 decreased 2.4 percent, to 358,326 units, down from 367,055 units shipped in May 2013. Residential electric storage water heater shipments increased 0.3 percent in May 2014, to 346,116 units, up from 345,077 units shipped in May 2013. For the year-to-date, […]
US Steel has been one of the leaders in the push to prevent foreign oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from being unfairly traded here in the United States. US Steel recently closed two of their OCTG manufacturing facilities. One of the main reasons provided by US Steel was the flood of OCTG imports from countries […]
The following article comes from one of our contributing writers, Peter Brebach. Peter is an active trader who deals in the pipe and tube markets and understands the impact of the US Department of Commerce final determination on oil country tubular goods (OCTG). Here is what Peter has to say: The just published final determinations […]
The final determination on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) was released on Friday afternoon (Friday, July 11, 2014). The steel industry believes that a positive ruling in favor of the domestic steel industry will prompt a new round of dumping cases aimed at flat rolled products – specifically cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume. However, these […]
The International Trade Commission and Commerce Department issued the following determination on antidumping relief on OCTG imports from South Korean steelmakers: “Today, the Department of Commerce announced its affirmative final determinations in the AD investigations of imports of OCTG from India, Korea, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam, and CVD investigations […]
According to Baker Hughes data from July 11th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,875 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 1 rig when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 1 to 1,563 rigs, gas rigs unchanged at 311 rigs, and […]
It is still too early in the month of July to provide a trend analysis of where we think import numbers will fall by the end of the month. The first eight days (with three being holidays) of the month saw a relatively large number of license applications but we will wait until next Tuesday […]
Many within the steel industry are looking toward Washington, D.C. to right was has been perceived as a wrong committed by South Korea against the OCTG manufacturers and supporting domestic steel mills. According to the US Department of Commerce website, the final determination is supposed to be announced on Thursday of this week so we […]
AISI Press Release – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and more than 40 other associations are urging the State Department to move ahead toward completion of the Keystone XL pipeline. In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, in whose jurisdiction the pipeline evaluation process lies, the groups state […]
According to Baker Hughes data from July 3rd, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,874 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 1 rig when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 4 to 1,562 rigs, gas rigs down 3 to 311 rigs, […]
Steel imports in May increased 7.4 percent from April to 4 million net tons, a 41.5 percent increase over May imports in 2013. The year-to-date total is now 17.5 million net tons, 31.7 percent higher than the same period last year. Steel imports have been a headline issue for the steel industry in the last […]
Something has to give. US Steel announced during the month of June the closure of two of their OCTG production facilities. The McKeesport facility has a capacity of 315,000 tons of OCTG per year while the Bellville operation capacity is 100,000 tons of OCTG on an annual basis. Total US Steel production capacity of oil […]
The latest steel import census data has preliminary imports at 4,016,437 net tons in May, the highest tonnage levels seen since 2006. May represents a 7.4 percent increase over the previous month and an increase of 1,178,145 tons or 41.5 percent compared to May 2013. Foreign steel now represents 28 percent of the steel market. […]
This month will be focused on foreign steel imports. The month will kick off on Thursday evening or Friday morning (July 10th or 11th) when the US Department of Commerce is slated to report their final determination regarding the oil country tubular goods (OCTG) dumping suits. This determination is critical to those mills who support […]
Final financing has been approved for Big River Steel in Mississippi County, Arkansas. Construction is expected to begin in July with a formal groundbreaking ceremony in September according to a spokesperson for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC). “It’s truly been a team effort between our investors, local and state leadership, our management team, and […]
The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI rose moderately to 52.7 in June from 52.1 in May, an expansion of the manufacturing sector for the 19th month. Production increased at the fastest rate since February due to a flow of new orders. International trade volumes were subdued in June reported JP Morgan and Markit. The June […]
“When the rules are ignored, circumvented or broken, all Americans lose,” said US Steel President and CEO Mario Longhi to the United States Senate Committee on Finance. Mr. Longhi’s testimony on trade enforcement regarding foreign steel imports is reprinted below for our readers. United States Senate Committee on Finance Testimony of Mario Longhi President and […]
According to Baker Hughes data from June 27th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,873 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 15 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 13 to 1,558 rigs, gas rigs up 3 to 314 rigs, […]
Steel imports in May increased 7.4 percent from April to 4 million net tons, a 41.5 percent increase over May imports in 2013. The year-to-date total is now 17.5 million net tons, 31.7 percent higher than the same period last year. Steel imports have been a headline issue for the steel industry in the last […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (BLS) puts out its series of producer price indexes, for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Friday reported May results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials and this month for the first […]
The latest steel import census data has preliminary imports at 4,016,437 net tons in May, the highest tonnage levels seen since 2006. May represents a 7.4 percent increase over the previous month and an increase of 1,178,145 tons or 41.5 percent compared to May 2013. Foreign steel now represents 28 percent of the steel market. […]
Figure 1 shows historical gas and oil prices since January 2000. West Texas Intermediate closed at $107.08 and Brent at $115.19 on June 19th. In 10 days prior to the 19th WTI increased by $1.99 and Brent by $4.64 as the ISIS situation in Iraq increased market uncertainty. Oil and gas prices have both been […]