Year over year, total rolled product imports in March were down by 11.2 percent, measured as a three-month moving average (3MMA). This early look at March’s import volume is based on Commerce Department license data (see explanation below). Beginning in January 2018, we expanded this import analysis to include all major steel sectors: sheet, plate, […]
The American Institute for International Steel has appealed its case against President Trump’s Section 232 tariffs to the U.S. Court of Appeals. “This appeal is an important element of our overall legal strategy. As we noted when we started this journey nine months ago, we strongly believe that in the end this matter will be […]
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal recommended on Wednesday that five of seven provisional steel safeguards, imposed by the government following the imposition of Section 232 tariffs by the U.S., be removed. A CITT inquiry concerning the importation into Canada of heavy plate, concrete reinforcing bar, energy tubular products, hot-rolled sheet, pre-painted steel, stainless steel wire, […]
The latest survey of metalforming companies by the Precision Metalforming Association revealed uncertainty about business activity during the next three months. A survey of 110 firms, in the March 2019 PMA Business Conditions Report, showed 37 percent expect improving business conditions during the period, 49 percent anticipate no change, and 14 percent expect business activity […]
March 23 marked the one-year anniversary of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users had the following comments for the Trump Administration: “The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users urges the Trump Administration to terminate the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. At their one-year […]
Much attention has been given to opponents of the Section 232 tariffs, but there are those who support keeping the tariffs even after a new North American trade agreement is approved. The American Line Pipe Producers Association, makers of large-diameter welded pipe, urged the administration to continue the tariffs on LDWP imports from Canada and […]
Steel markets are facing “considerable downside risk” as excess capacity continues to a be a major challenge for the global steel industry. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that global steelmaking capacity (in nominal crude terms) was nearly unchanged in 2018 at 2.234 billion metric tons, after declining in the previous two […]
The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled against a legal challenge to the constitutionality of Section 232 brought by the American Institute for International Steel. AIIS alleged that Section 232 violates the constitutional prohibition against Congress delegating its legislative powers to the president. The CIT denied a motion by AIIS for a summary judgment, citing […]
The decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade to deny the American Institute for International Steel’s motion for summary judgment on its constitutional challenge to Section 232 has not deterred AIIS from further action. Said AIIS President Richard Chriss: “We are heartened that the Court of International Trade recognized that Section 232, in the […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Last June, the American Institute for International Steel and two steel traders filed suit against the United States, arguing that Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. § 1962, as amended) was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs […]
Mexico has renewed the 15 percent tariff on imports of iron and steel products from countries with which it does not have a free-trade agreement. The tariffs cover 186 products and were originally introduced in 2015 to protect domestic producers from Asian imports. The newest renewal cites the “crisis facing the international steel market caused […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has registered little change so far this year, even as steel prices have seen a small uptrend. The goal of the index is to measure how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful today (Current Index), as well as three to six […]
Steel Market Update asked: With steel imports dropping and domestic mills running close to capacity, are you concerned about where steel prices may go over the next few months? Surprisingly, nearly two out of three respondents to SMU’s market trends questionnaire earlier this week said they are unconcerned about a big swing in prices. Their […]
Over the next couple of years there will be approximately 20 million tons of capacity built in North America. Most of us focus on the capacity being built by Nucor, Steel Dynamics, JSW USA and others. What is overlooked is the capacity being built just south of the U.S. border in Mexico. In an effort […]
Commercial Metals Company reported net earnings of $14.9 million on net sales of $1.4 billion for the second quarter of its fiscal 2019 year ending Feb. 28, 2019. Revenue for the quarter increased 33 percent year-over-year due to favorable market conditions and strategic growth initiatives, including completion of the Gerdau S.A. acquisition in November. The […]
U.S. tariffs on imports of steel, aluminum and Chinese goods have “an unmistakable negative impact” on the economy, says a new report from IHS Markit. The report, “The Economic and Industry Impact of Protectionism Tariffs on the Off-highway Equipment Sector,” estimates that Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs will result in an average GDP loss […]
It has been a year since President Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on steel imports under Section 232, and The Wall Street Journal asked in its Sunday editorial: “How are those steel tariffs working”? The American Institute for International Steel, currently embroiled in a constitutional challenge to the use of Section 232 to regulate imports […]
As the market waits anxiously to see if President Trump gives in to the international pressure to rethink his national security tariff on steel imports, it’s clear that steel fabricators are not big fans of Section 232. Speaking at the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association annual meeting March 5 in Nashville, panelists’ comments reflected the divisive […]
Are steel prices witnessing a dead cat bounce or the beginning of a bullish reversal? The market appears split on the feline vs. bovine analogy. In other words, there is a huge divergence of thought on what is going to happen to steel prices over the next three or four months. The benchmark price of […]
Steel market conditions and steel prices could be good for the next 18-24 months, but after that comes an unavoidable downturn that metals and mining analyst Timna Tanners has dubbed “Steelmageddon.” In fact, her company, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, has trademarked the term. Speaking at the S&P Global Platts North America Steel Conference March […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Steel and aluminum tariffs are plainly on the table as part of the USMCA approval strategy. Canada and Mexico insist on the removal of the tariffs as part of ratification of the new “NAFTA 2.0.” U.S. Trade Representative […]
Latin American steel mill Ternium reported the highest annual EBITDA in its history last year at $2.7 billion, a 40 percent increase from 2017. Net income was $1.5 billion, driven by an 18 percent increase in sales and higher steel product shipments. Ternium’s Mexico segment shipped 6.5 million metric tons of steel in 2018, representing […]
There are reports about a myriad of meetings between the USTR, Mexico and Canada as the sides try to come to some form of resolution regarding the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. I continue to hear that the move is to not reduce the traditional level of imports from these two countries. In […]
Members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International, wholesalers of galvanized sheet and coil products, reported steady and strong demand in the HVAC market so far in 2019, but also growing concern about the direction of steel prices. One HARDI member on the trade group’s monthly conference call today described conditions as “somewhat fragile.” The […]
Declining steel prices may have turned around following price increase announcements from the mills, but there’s no sign yet of a similar uptick in steel buyers’ sentiment. Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index, which has been generally trending downward for the past year, saw another slight dip in early March. The goal of the […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump may be forced to concede some ground on his Section 232 tariffs in order to get legislators in Canada and Mexico to sign off on the new North American trade agreement. One option the administration reportedly […]
Steel Market Update asked: One year after President Trump announced the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, have the tariffs been good for your business? For a small majority, 54 percent, of those responding to SMU’s market trends questionnaire, the answer is no. For 46 percent, yes. Opinions are split nearly down the middle. […]
We live in a time when nothing is as it seems and uncertainty rules the roost. This can make for a daunting task when considering when, what and how much steel you need to purchase at any point in time. It appears the second price increase announcement out of Nucor moved some of the end […]
We live in a time when nothing is as it seems and uncertainty rules the roost. This can make for a daunting task when considering when, what and how much steel you need to purchase at any point in time. It appears the second price increase announcement out of Nucor moved some of the end […]
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is onboard with an effort to restrict President Trump’s ability to use national security as a reason to impose tariffs. Grassley reportedly has told his staff to work with Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to create legislation that would garner enough Senate support to override […]