The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) reported foreign steel import license data earlier today. May licenses continue at a 3.6 million net ton pace which is quite disturbing (and probably not well timed based on the Section 232 hearing happening on Wednesday). However, almost one-third of the imports are attached directly to the steel mills […]
I have been working day and night trying to get a list of the invited speakers for the Section 232 (national security) hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce on the morning of Wednesday, May 24th. The US Department of Commerce came out with the list to the media late this afternoon. The hearings starts […]
Later this week the U.S. Department of Commerce will hold public hearings for interested parties to voice their opinions regarding the Section 232 (national security) inquiry into the steel industry. Many believe the conclusion of this investigation was predetermined at the time of the original announcement. In the Fact Sheet produced by the U.S. Department […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) had a number of conversations with steel buyers late last week during our trip to Chicago. Benchmark hot rolled prices offers have slipped below $600 per ton with one service center executive discussing a spot offer of $560 per ton coming from one mill (and complaining that they lost of the […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are slightly less enthusiastic about how they view their company’s ability to be success both in the existing, or current market environment as well as three to six months out into the future. There is an uncertainty that is becoming an issue to business as companies who buy […]
This evening I attended the Metals Industry Boy Scout Dinner in Chicago. The steel, and now metals industries have supported the Chicago area Boy Scouts for more than 25 years and, once again, there was close to 1,000 mostly steel people at the cocktail party and dinner. This included steel mills, service centers, trading companies, […]
In a move that has been building over the past few weeks, today Steel Market Update (SMU) is moving our Price Momentum Indicator to Lower from Neutral. Our belief at this point is flat rolled steel prices will continue their drift lower over the next 30-60 days as we approach what many in the steel […]
HVAC wholesalers reported despite “good” demand they are seeing ultra-competitive conditions on the sales of galvanized steel they are attempting to sell into the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) markets. Steel Market Update participates in a monthly steel conference call hosted by HARDI (Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International) for their member companies. The HARDI conference […]
How Much Power Does Section 232 Give the President to Restrict Steel Imports? Commentary by Lewis LeibowitzThe Law Office of Lewis E. LeibowitzWashington, D.C. We have had many questions about the power of the President under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The statute gives the President considerable power to take action […]
Happy Mother’s Day (at least for one more hour here on the East Coast)… We are beginning our mid-May flat rolled steel market trends survey at 8 AM ET tomorrow (Monday) morning. If you receive an invitation to participate please take a few minutes to click on the button on your invitation and complete our […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) spoke with many trading companies over the past few days about concerns their companies might have with the status of the industry and efforts to stop foreign steel from entering the country. “The trading companies are not the bad guy here,” is what one trading executive said to us late this […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic (USA) hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and […]
As I mentioned in one of the articles in tonight’s edition of SMU, I have been speaking with trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz on a whole host of subjects. We will be working on an article to help our readers better understand the ramifications of the Section 232 review (national security) and what powers the President […]
Lately, Steel Market Update (SMU) has been hearing the word “risk” bantered about by many within the steel industry. In Steel Market Update’s opinion, how one perceives the risks associated with buy and sell decisions is one of the factors determining the direction of flat rolled steel prices. which at this time are moving lower. […]
My “final thoughts” is an area of the newsletter where I can provide some of my opinions on a wide range of topics, provide information or updates on our workshops and conference or provide late-breaking tidbits from around the world that come in late in the day and are unable to make it into a […]
This week I will be working with as many trading companies as I can find to talk about what is going on with foreign steel orders and their reaction to the uncertainty being painted with the Section 232 investigation. I have heard of orders being cancelled. I have heard of countries no longer being in […]
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 coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures […]
In normal markets it is fairly easy to determine where foreign price offers “should” be based on the indexes of export prices in Asia, Europe, Middle East and elsewhere. SMU wants to begin tonight’s article to warn our readers that we are not in a “normal” market due to antidumping suits and now the Section […]
The Commerce Department is seeking input from American businesses on what factors contribute to the trade deficit. Commerce is collecting information to submit to President Trump as an information base for renegotiating trade deals and to deter and punish trade abuse. “Many trade abuses are well known to American companies, but because different Federal agencies […]
The domestic steel mills did not cancel scrap orders for April delivery that had not yet arrived. This is a sign that the steel mills believe prices will be sideways to slightly higher for May delivery than what they negotiated for April. All is quiet as the steel mills and their scrap suppliers jockey for […]
For a number of weeks now (?) Steel Market Update has had our Price Momentum Indicator pointing toward Neutral as opposed to Higher or Lower. Over the past couple of weeks flat rolled prices have been coming off their highs and yet SMU continues to keep our Price Momentum Indicator at Neutral. What gives? Why […]
Olympic Steel reported a very positive first quarter. Higher shipment volume and pricing resulted in a 30 percent increase in net sales to $334.9 million resulting in net income of $7.7 million. Sales and margins increased in all three segments of Olympic Steel due to increased demand and higher pricing. Carbon flat products turned in […]
Cliffs Natural Resources continues to shore up its balance sheet and focus on reducing its debt. A $72 million debt extinguishment/restructuring charge resulted in a net loss of $30 million for the quarter. Debt was reduced by $550 million during Q1 resulting in total debt at the end of the quarter of $1.6 billion. First […]
Is the newly initiated Section 232 the Black Swan event that will remove steel supply from the market and tip the balance of supply/demand in favor of the domestic steel mills, thus pushing prices to levels not seen since 2008? There should not be any doubt that the make-up of the Trump Administration, coupled with […]
Produced by: Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report & Analysis On April 20, 2017, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum (“Memorandum”) directing the Secretary of Commerce (“Secretary”) to prioritize investigating the effects of steel imports on national security pursuant to Section 232(b) of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Under the Act, if the Secretary determines […]
The industry is abuzz with all kinds of speculation as to how the Section 232 investigation will impact traders and steel buyers. Another Section 232 was announced and should have been signed by President Trump today covering aluminum. I was texting with one of the steel mills this morning about their access to aluminum for […]
This week the Trump administration initiated an investigation on the impact of steel imports on national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Section 232 has been initiated 26 times within the last 55 years but only two (1979 and 1983) found a threat to national security, both involving crude oil. […]
US Steel stunned analysts and the financial community on Tuesday/Wednesday when the company announced a large loss when the street was expecting the company to make money. During the conference call the mill advised that they essentially need to upgrade their facilities in order for the company to remain competitive. The stock price dropped 25 […]
AK Steel reported net income of $62.5 million for its best first quarter since 2008. Shipments declined to 1,486,900 tons year-over-year due to intentionally reduced sales of lower margin products. Net sales increased one percent from Q1 2016 to $1.53 billion as a result of increases in average selling price on both spot and contract […]
Steel Market Update has been working on trying to get a better understanding of the pipe and tube business. We had a conversation with Barry Zekelman, Chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, the largest privately held pipe and tube manufacturer in the country. Our initial conversation was about foreign steel imports and how they were […]