Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to be optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment as well as three to six months into the future. We are seeing signs of what has become a normal mild tapering of enthusiasm as we enter the fourth quarter of the […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, 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 […]
Despite the major flat rolled trade cases concluded in 2016, flat rolled steel imports continue to surge. Coated imports are at their highest levels ever and cold rolled imports are near record levels. This article, by Paul Lowrey of Steel Research Associates, provides some historical context to the current situation. This analysis includes all products […]
The American Institute for International Steel, representing 120 companies supporting 1.2 million jobs in the steel-using sectors and 84,000 direct and indirect jobs in the marine transportation system, wrote to the president this week requesting termination of the Section 232 investigation on steel imports. AIIS said they appreciate that a significant part of the rationale […]
I am in Fort Wayne, Ind., along with members of my Steel 101 team, John Eckstein, Mario Briccetti, Steve Murphy, Steve Painter, Sandy Williams, as well as Tim Triplett who will be attending his first Steel 101 workshop. Over the next two days, we will be working with a large class of attendees and discussing […]
Steel tariffs are still likely from the Trump administration, said Nucor CEO and President John Ferriola. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ferriola said a White House official that regularly meets with the president told him that the topic is brought up by Trump several times a week. Ferriola said he was told that two or […]
Ryerson Holding Corp., a value-added processor and distributor of industrial metals, sees improved demand and sequential growth for the third quarter in the construction equipment, food processing and agricultural industries and year-over-year growth in nearly all of its end markets. In its third-quarter guidance, Ryerson noted U.S. service center volumes have increased by more than […]
ArcelorMittal USA will idle its rolling mill in Conshohocken, Pa., within the next year and consolidate its plate operations. Production from the mill will be transferred to the Coatesville and Burns Harbor facilities. The heat treat and inspection operation will continue at Conshohocken using steel rolled by the sister facilities. The decision to idle the […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings will go public with the sale of at least $150 million in shares. The company filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday with security regulators in Canada. Stelco, the former U.S. Steel Canada, was acquired out of bankruptcy by Bedrock Industries in June. The restructuring relieved Stelco of $3 […]
One of the surprises over the past year has been the amount of foreign steel imports still arriving in the United States despite antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD), a Section 337 complaint, a circumvention complaint and the Trump directive for the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to investigate steel as it relates to national […]
Last Friday, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that the domestic solar industry has been seriously injured by imports of cheap, foreign-made solar cells. The case was brought by solar panel makers Suniva and SolarWorld under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The ITC now has until Nov. 13 to make recommendations to […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) asked those responding to last week’s flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire where they see flat rolled steel prices headed? The results are shown in the graphic below. However, what is also of interest were the comments left behind by respondents. First, the results: The majority (52 percent) believe there is […]
A note that SMU adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Lower from Neutral on Friday. I have explained 10 of the reasons why (and there are more) in the first article in tonight’s newsletter. If you would like to make comments, feel free to reach out to me at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. I will be working on […]
Both Current and Future Sentiment showed a slight decline as a single data point in the latest SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index, based on data gathered in mid-September. The index measures how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful both in the current market environment, as well […]
Earlier this month, foreign steel imports for September were trending toward a 2.6-million-ton month based on import licenses through the first 12 days of the month. Over the past week, the pace for import license requests has picked up. This is most likely due to the impact of the two hurricanes: Harvey in Texas and […]
Despite recent price increase announcements from major domestic mills and imports that are trending lower, wholesalers and distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market don’t expect much change in lead times or pricing until there’s some resolution to the Section 232 and Vietnam circumvention trade actions pending in Washington. In the monthly […]
Steel Market Update is working on a new index to measure flat rolled steel inventories in service center warehouses at the end of each month. Our goal is to assist the flat rolled steel industry to better understand inventories and their potential impact on steel mill order books and lead times. SMU will also analyze […]
Steel Market Update is working on a new index to measure flat rolled steel inventories in service center warehouses at the end of each month. Our goal is to assist the flat rolled steel industry to better understand inventories and their potential impact on steel mill order books and lead times. SMU will also analyze […]
“Dangerous, unintended consequences” could result from the Section 232 national security investigation of steel imports, said members of a panel hosted by the American Institute for International Steel, which represents foreign steel producers. “Our objective today is twofold,” said John Foster, AIIS chairman and president of Kurt Orban Partners, in his opening remarks, “First, to […]
World Trade Online reported this morning that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told a U.S. Senator the Section 232 review on steel will not be ready until after tax reform legislation has been completed. This is in line with what President Trump said in July when he told The Wall Street Journal, “We’re waiting till we […]
JSW Steel, a steel plate mill in Baytown, Texas, reports a remarkable story of perseverance, ingenuity and courage as it faced the devastation of Hurricane Harvey. As the hurricane was bearing down on the coast, CEO John Hritz made the difficult decision to shut down operations at the mill. JSW’s 700 acres are situated in […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Indicator has been “stuck” in Neutral for a number of weeks as steel buyers and steel mills wrestle with the direction of flat rolled steel prices going forward. Steel buyers are beginning to say the next move in flat rolled steel prices may well be lower, rather than […]
Throughout the day (Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017), Steel Market Update (SMU) has been discussing steel prices, AK Steel’s price announcement and whether or not there is any way the mills will be able to collect another $30 (or anything) based on what is happening in the market right now. “This increase puzzled all of us. […]
Over the weekend, we received a message from trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz regarding the status of the Vietnam circumvention suit. This is the one where the domestic steel mills filed a circumvention suit alleging China is circumventing the duties on cold rolled and CORE (corrosion resistant) steels by sending substrate to Vietnam and having it […]
The Metals Service Center Institute is urging the Trump administration to take “swift, decisive action on the Section 232 steel investigation to bring certainty to the marketplace.” In a letter to President Trump last Thursday, MSCI President and CEO Robert Weidner, III, and Chairman R. Holman Head, stated that “problems posed by foreign government-sponsored capacity […]
G-20 members are on track to hold their first official meeting of the Global Steel Forum on Excess Steel Capacity this fall. The forum was formed last year during the 2016 meetings to find “collective solutions” to remedy steel overcapacity and discourage protectionism. The group met informally at the Summit in Hamburg in July 2017. […]
Three out of four steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire believe the hurricane and flooding in Houston will have a significant impact on the steel industry, at least for the short term. Following are some insightful comments: · “It will have an impact. It will be negative in the short-term, […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) released final census data on July foreign steel imports. The DOC advised total steel imports of 3,482,524 net tons. When semi-finished steels are removed (slabs/billets/blooms), finished steel imports totaled 2,896,389 net tons. At the same time, the DOC advised the latest license data for the month of August. As […]
Steel Market Update asked four panelists at the 2018 Steel Summit to define free and fair trade and offer some solutions to what most in the industry consider unfairly traded steel imports. Philip Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association representing North American EAF steel producers, said there are five components of free and fair […]
The manufacturing panel during the SMU Steel Summit Conference last week in Atlanta featured a lively exchange between Barry Zekelman (CEO, Zekelman Industries) and Dan Pearson (Cato Institute). Mr. Zekelman’s comments appeared in the Aug. 31, 2017, issue of Steel Market Update. Mr. Pearson, the former chairman of the International Trade Commission, read our article […]