Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The lawsuit filed almost exactly one year ago challenging Section 232 has been turned down by the Supreme Court. AIIS and the other plaintiffs in the case, which was decided in favor of the government last March, asked the […]
By Chris Houlden, CRU Research Manager CRU held its annual Steel Briefing in New York City on June 17. This Insight summarizes the key takeaways from papers presented by CRU North America market specialists Josh Spoores and Ryan McKinley. • Up to 20 Mt of new hot-rolling and over 8 Mt of steelmaking capacity could come […]
One thing is certain in this crazy steel market, service centers are taking their spot prices lower and lower as each week passes. Manufacturing companies are almost unanimous in their view that flat rolled steel distributors are decreasing their spot offers. We saw 93 percent of the manufacturing companies responding to last week’s SMU flat […]
The construction segment of the market is booming. This is what we heard from the HARDI steel conference call we participated in last week, and it is what we heard from many companies over the two days SMU was in New York City earlier this week. Whenever we travel, one of the things we always […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran Hundreds of steel executives from around the world gathered in New York City this week to hold meetings and learn about what will drive the steel markets in the second half of the year. The CRU Steel Briefing on Monday, June 17, provided attendees with our views on sheet […]
Last night, Steel Market Update participated in the annual Bank of America Merrill Lynch dinner hosted by metals and mining analyst Timna Tanners. We also spoke at the CRU Steel Briefing a little earlier in the day. Here are some of the key takeaways from those meetings. Mill Lead Times Short Flat rolled steel mill […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through April and in 12 months through April for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic mill shipments […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Chris Asgill Scrap supply has continued to outpace demand in most of the key scrap supply markets and CRU’s metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) has fallen a further 4.2 percent m/m to 231.2 (see chart). This is the lowest level for the indicator since June 2017. The depth of U.S. scrap price weakness surprised the […]
Beginning today, a new portal is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce for those who need to file exclusion requests under the Section 232 measures on steel and aluminum. Companies can request to have products they import excluded from the 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent tariff on aluminum if their needs […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit will be more digital than ever. The improved SMU Events App puts everything at your fingertips. The App will provide easy access to the conference agenda, lists of speakers with biographical information, a complete list of the attendees, sponsors and exhibitors, and more. You can now connect, engage and follow […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit will be more digital than ever. The improved SMU Events App puts everything at your fingertips. The App will provide easy access to the conference agenda, lists of speakers with biographical information, a complete list of the attendees, sponsors and exhibitors, and more. You can now connect, engage and follow […]
Total rolled product imports in May declined by 27.4 percent year over year on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 24.4 percent decline in April. This early look at May’s import volume is based on Commerce Department license data (see explanation below.) This import analysis includes all major steel sectors: sheet, plate, […]
This first estimate of U.S. steel imports for June shows foreign purchases trending further downward. The rate of Commerce Department import licenses, extrapolated out through the end of the month, forecasts total steel imports of less than 2.5 million tons in June, well below the average of around 2.7 million tons. Steel imports spiked in […]
Suppliers of steel products to the HVAC industry find themselves stuck in a good news/bad news market. Demand remains good as the construction season ramps up, but pricing on galvanized steel continues to weaken. “Demand in the Southeast is still very good, even though there has been a painful devaluation of our inventory,” said one […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum came under new scrutiny last week. A Supreme Court decision and an announcement by U.S. Steel were key developments. First, U.S. Steel announced the idling of two blast furnaces, due […]
Here we discuss the agenda, speakers and what we were thinking as we put together Day 2 of the SMU Steel Summit Conference, which is Tuesday, August 27, 2019. 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM – Doors Open at the Georgia International Convention Center Coffee, drinks and pastries will be available. Exhibition areas will be manned. […]
2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference – A Sneak Peek – Day 2 Written by: John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update RE: 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference, August 26-28, 2019 – Location: Georgia International Convention Center, Atlanta, GA On Thursday of this past week, I laid out the thought process involved with putting together […]
Steel Market Update data supports the widespread view that steel demand is unusually sluggish for this time of year. Nine out of 10 steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this past week characterized demand as flat or declining. Only a small single-digit percentage see improving demand. About 35 percent of the […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison April reports related to manufacturing indicate a potential softening in the sector going forward. Since total IP growth for Q1 was revised down to register a decline of 0.5 percent q/q, we have reduced our forecast for 2019 IP growth to 2.0 percent from 2.7 percent previously. The ISM […]
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary (June 1) of full implementation of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports: The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) is encouraged by the termination of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and […]
With prime steel prices continuing to slide, market conditions for distributors of secondary steel are a bit discouraging. The cheaper the prime products, the less incentive for buyers to seek out deals on nonprime material. Nonprime or secondary steel includes coils that are rejected because they failed to meet the specifications for their original use, […]
May turned out to be a good month for several automakers. Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and Nissan all reported year-over-year gains. Fiat Chrysler posted a 2 percent gain in May, its first monthly increase since January, while Toyota jumped 3.2 percent and Nissan 0.1 percent. Automotive News estimates that General Motors sales increased 1.2 percent in […]
I am in Washington, D.C., attending the joint SMA/AISI annual meeting. I had the unique opportunity to sit down with Phil Bell, President of the Steel Manufacturers Association, and the SMA board to discuss my viewpoints regarding various issues affecting the electric arc furnace manufacturers. The SMA got to see a few of the proprietary […]
Promises of steel tariff relief were short-lived for Mexico as President Trump’s latest tariff move adds new penalties and dashes hopes for quick ratification of the USMCA. Trump announced on Thursday that 5 percent tariffs will be imposed June 10 on all Mexican goods, including steel, until such time that Mexico stops the influx of […]
NLMK Group has backed off from plans to invest in its U.S. division due to the steel duties that were imposed in 2018. The Department of Commerce has denied the Group’s request for exemption from the 25 percent Section 232 tariffs so that it can supply its facilities with steel slab. “Earlier we planned to […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump announced his intention to impose new tariffs on imports from Mexico on Thursday afternoon. Beginning June 10, 5 percent tariffs will be imposed on all imports of goods from Mexico. On the first of July, the […]
Metalforming companies are expecting a downward trend in business conditions for the next three months, according to 119 metalforming companies surveyed by the Precision Metalforming Association. The PMA Business Conditions Report for May shows only 19 percent of those surveyed expected economic activity to improve. About 24 percent expected orders to decline, an increase from […]
The chairman of Mexican steel producer Altos Hornos de Mexico SAB was arrested on Tuesday in an anti-corruption probe, resulting in the freezing of AHMSA accounts and a possible disruption to steel production in Mexico. The investigation involves the sale by AHMSA of an idled fertilizer plant in 2014, allegedly worth $50 million, to oil […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Asked a Steel Market Update reader: Why are U.S. prices now so far below China’s tariff-adjusted prices? The short answer is that Chinese exports to the U.S. are subject to antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs) totaling more than […]
SMU contributor Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a trader at Cargill spending time in […]