Flat rolled steel prices moved higher over the past week. Hot rolled offers are reaching (or exceeding) $700 per ton, while cold rolled and coated offers are moving into the low to mid $800s (base pricing, before extras). Steel buyers seemed resigned to paying higher numbers with many waiting to see what will happen with […]
It was an unusually busy year for steel trade actions in the United States in 2017. January brought the nominations of Robert Lighthizer as U.S. Trade Representative and Wilbur Ross as Commerce Secretary. During his confirmation hearings, Ross said, “I’m not anti-trade, I’m pro-trade. But I’m pro-sensible trade. Not pro-trade that is to the disadvantage […]
The year 2017 proved a bit “odd” as the threat of political action against foreign steel worked against the domestic steel mills. Early in the year, newly crowned President Trump authorized the U.S. Department of Commerce, led by former steel magnate Wilbur Ross, to investigate if the steel industry is essential to the U.S. for […]
With demand fairly strong and prices rising, two out of three respondents to this week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire feel there is no longer any need for President Trump to act on Section 232 ahead of the mid-January deadline. Earlier this year, the Trump administration instructed the Commerce Department to investigate whether low-priced […]
More than nine out of 10 respondents to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire see steel prices heading higher in the first quarter. Seven percent say they see no clear direction for prices. Virtually no one expects prices to decline in the wake of price hike announcements by the major mills earlier this month. […]
Sectors closely associated with the steel industry have generally reacted favorably to the tax reform legislation passed on Wednesday. The Steel Manufacturers Association hopes the bill will “result in significant economic growth that improves the fiscal situation for individuals, small business and corporations.” SMA President Philip Bell said it is now time to turn to […]
Both flat rolled and plate steel distributors saw only a very modest drop in inventories as of the end of July. Inventories continue to be “balanced” at 2.7 months of supply on flat rolled and 2.1 months of supply on plate, according to Steel Market Update’s proprietary inventory data. Flat Rolled Spread Tightens Although our […]
Steel Market Update recently adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to “Higher” as, in our opinion, steel buyers should anticipate flat rolled steel prices to move up over the next 30 to 60 days. During last week’s analysis of the flat rolled steel market, 78 percent of the respondents agreed with SMU, sensing that pricing momentum […]
On the heels of its $50 per ton increase on carbon plate prices on Wednesday, Nucor announced an additional $30 per ton increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products on Friday, effective immediately. U.S. Steel, NLMK USA and California Steel matched the Nucor sheet price increase of $30 per ton. ArcelorMittal USA, […]
Domestic mills are in the driver’s seat and steel prices have nowhere to go but up, agreed most respondents to Steel Market Update’s flat roll market trends questionnaire this week. SMU contacts steel buyers twice each month to monitor their views on market conditions. Asked for their opinion on the current direction of steel prices, […]
The Section 232 investigation into steel imports fails to meet approval by the Defense Department, according to Inside U.S. Trade sources. After reviewing a draft report earlier this year, the Defense Department determined that trade restrictions proposed by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would “unnecessarily vex U.S. allies.” A source told Inside U.S. Trade that the […]
The Commerce Department’s Vietnam circumvention ruling on Tuesday represents a departure in the U.S. government’s interpretation of what constitutes adding “minor or insignificant” value to a product. This is a key issue in determining whether importation of a product from a country not directly subject to a trade remedy amounts to a “circumvention” of existing […]
Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Higher from Neutral earlier today. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will rise over the next 30 to 60 days. We last adjusted Momentum on Oct. 18, 2017, when we moved from “Lower” to “Neutral.” We are hearing from buyers and sellers of […]
Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Higher from Neutral earlier today. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will rise over the next 30 to 60 days. We last adjusted Momentum on Oct. 18, 2017, when we moved from “Lower” to “Neutral.” We are hearing from buyers and sellers of […]
The Senate passed a tax bill on Dec. 2 and is now in the process of reconciling it with the legislation passed by the House last month. Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip Bell said in a statement on Saturday, “It is our hope that after reconciliation the final legislation will result in significant economic growth […]
The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity agreed on a framework Thursday for collectively solving the world’s steel overcapacity problem. The 33 members worked together to develop specific policy recommendations using six agreed-upon principles to formulate solutions for bringing steel capacity in line with demand and reducing trade distortions. Notable is a new sharing of […]
The U.S. Commerce Department has self-initiated an antidumping and countervailing investigation of imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from China. Normally, AD/CVD investigations are initiated by petitioners within the industry who allege dumping or subsidization of a product by one or more countries. Commerce may self-initiate an investigation whenever the Secretary determines a need exists […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce and its Secretary Wilbur Ross did something today that has not been done in the last 25 years–they self-initiated an antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) suit. In this case, it was against aluminum imports from China, but steel buyers should take note. The DOC already has a Section 232 […]
Keith Gunter, Vice President of Purchasing at McElroy Metal (and a part-time poet) shares his annual special holiday retrospective on the past year and his wishes for a prosperous 2018 for all. T’was soon to be Christmas, when all through the land, Pricing ought to be stable, wouldn’t that be so grand. During the fourth […]
We asked a question about Section 232 in last week’s flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire. The question was, “Do you think President Trump will invoke Section 232 and add duties on steel imports early next year on national security grounds?” Relatively few steel buyers elected to answer this question, which either suggests they don’t […]
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pushed back at critics of the Section 232 investigation this week, saying steel-consuming businesses don’t “deserve” dumped steel. Associations such as the American Institute for International Steel and U.S. Chamber of Commerce assert that Section 232 restrictions on steel could lead to economic disaster for the steel supply chain, ports and […]
I have a feeling if I were to write a long drawn-out final thoughts article that our readers would shoot me… I think we have 16 articles in tonight’s newsletter – many of them top-line articles (price increases, MSCI data, Sentiment, Lead Times, Negotiations, Section 232, etc.). What you don’t know is we actually moved […]
Will the rest of the domestic steel mills announce new coating extras in first-quarter 2018, raising the price on galvanized steel? There was no clear consensus among members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) during their monthly conference call earlier today. Recent mill price announcements have stemmed the decline in galvanized prices, […]
Oil prices have topped $63 in recent weeks, up from $43 in June, but don’t expect a big uptrend in the price per barrel in 2018. Experts expect oil to continue trading in a tight range, keeping demand for oil country tubular goods in check at least through the first half next year. High energy […]
There was a surge in foreign steel imports during calendar year 2014. That high rate continued into the first half of 2015 at which time the domestic steel mills filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cases on CORE (coated steels), cold rolled and hot rolled steels. The U.S. Department of Commerce investigation found most […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel It has been a relatively light volume week in HR futures as the recent push higher in prices has left the […]
Ryerson Holding Corp. posted net income of $1.7 million in the third quarter, up from $600,000 in the second quarter, but down from $8.2 million in third-quarter 2016, as commodity challenges pressured margins. “The third quarter of 2017 can best be described by margin compression, driven primarily by nickel and chrome deflation in the second […]
Foreign steel imports for the month of October 2017 were just over three million net tons, based on the license data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) earlier this week. The 3,110,002 net tons were essentially unchanged from the Final Census Data released for the month of September when the U.S. imported 3,086,196 […]
Is another mill price hike likely? Nearly 60 percent of respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire earlier this week said they do expect the steel mills to make another price announcement this month before the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 23. The other 40 percent are doubtful. Following are some of their comments: · […]
U.S. Steel is undertaking a massive asset revitalization program to reduce unplanned outages and improve profitability and competitiveness. The company plans to invest approximately $1.2 billion from 2017 through 2020 on repairs and upgrades. By 2020, slab production capability at Gary Works, Great Lakes Works and Mon Valley works will be increased by 1 million […]