Allegheny Technologies, Inc., has agreed to form a 50-50 joint venture with an affiliate of China’s Tsingshan Group to manufacture and sell 60-inch-wide stainless sheet in North America. Tsingshan is the world’s largest stainless steel producer. The joint venture, which still needs regulatory approval, expects to begin shipping products in early 2018. Tsingshan’s operation in […]
Steel market indicators look good in the October data, but the trends took a turn for the worse. In the data released in October, our view of the present situation is that 47.2 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance are within the band of historically normal. […]
Kevin Voges, president of The Material Works (TMW), just got back from reviewing a new three-cell EPS coil line installation in China, where the company is finding a receptive audience for its EPS process, an alternative to acid pickling. “The Chinese are more environmentally conscious than anyone else because they’ve messed up their environment so […]
When Steel Market Update (SMU) began talking to our ferrous scrap sources over the past couple of days, we got a variety of opinions as to where prices will go for the month of November. From the East Coast we heard sideways was the most likely direction with a little “slightly stronger” for prime grades […]
When Steel Market Update (SMU) began talking to our ferrous scrap sources over the past couple of days, we got a variety of opinions as to where prices will go for the month of November. From the East Coast we heard sideways was the most likely direction with a little “slightly stronger” for prime grades […]
Wholesaler/distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market are waiting anxiously to see what happens to prices in the coming weeks. In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members asked two key questions: Will the mills be able to collect the flat roll […]
Late this afternoon, the Nucor Sheet Group sent a written note to customers advising them of a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) price increase on spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel. This follows the announcement by ArcelorMittal USA yesterday, taking spot base prices to $625 per ton on hot rolled and $825 […]
Service centers’ daily steel shipments in September were 0.9 percent higher than in August, matching the average since 2009. Therefore, the latest numbers were exactly on the historical track for this time of year, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Metals Service Center Institute data (MSCI). Carbon steel shipments were 144,400 tons per day […]
ArcelorMittal USA began advising their customers late this evening of their intention to raise flat rolled steel base prices. In an internal memo sent to the ArcelorMittal commercial team the mill advised, “All new opportunities for hot rolled, cold rolled and coated sheet products that require delivery in the 4th Quarter of 2017 should be […]
ArcelorMittal USA began advising their customers late on Tuesday (October 17, 2017) of their intention to raise flat rolled steel base prices. In an internal memo sent to the ArcelorMittal commercial team the mill advised, “All new opportunities for hot rolled, cold rolled and coated sheet products that require delivery in the 4th Quarter of […]
Demand for steel sheet products continued to expand through August. This report summarizes total steel supply by product from 2003 through August 2017 and year-on-year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments with total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side-by-side comparison of the degree to which imports […]
This Steel Market Update analysis of sheet and plate imports by district of entry and source through August 2017 includes both coiled and cut-to-length plate for the first time. We believe that misinformation (or a lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis of tonnage […]
Total rolled steel imports declined by 5.8 percent in the three months through September, compared with the three months through June. Sheet product imports were down by 3.9 percent on the same basis. The final license data for September was reported by of the U.S. Commerce Department on Oct. 3. The data is reported within […]
In its comments on President Trump’s “Buy America” executive order, California Steel Industries (CSI) makes a convincing case for steel companies that process slabs not “melted and poured” in the United States. In April, President Trump instructed all federal agencies to assess their compliance with Buy America/Buy American policies (which have an important distinction, as […]
Steel market indicators look good in the September data. Our view of the present situation is that 50 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance of them are within the band of historically normal. This was the same result as May and August. Along with September, these […]
The ferrous scrap market is softening and SMU’s sources expect prices to drop by $10 to $20 per gross ton in October. Domestic mills are beginning to cancel September orders that have not been completed (delivered) by the end of the month. This is a sure sign the mills believe ferrous scrap negotiations for October […]
The oil and gas drill rig count is increasing rapidly as the price of West Texas Intermediate hovers near $60 per barrel. The spot price of WTI broke through the $60 level on Dec. 29 for the first time since Dec. 18, 2014. It reached $64.22 on Jan. 12 before falling back to $59.41 on […]
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index gained 5.9 percent in July following a 5.8 percent gain in June. The 20-City Composite posted a 5.8 percent year-over-year gain in the latest report, up from 5.6 percent the previous month. A modest inventory is allowing sellers to boost prices as competition for available […]
A contractor at Nucor Steel in Decatur, Ala., died at the mill on Saturday afternoon after falling into a vat containing waste product from finished rolled steel. Nucor issued the following statement from Mike Lee, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel Decatur: “Nucor Steel Decatur and Atlantic Recovery Services, Inc., a specialized industrial […]
A contractor at Nucor Steel in Decatur, Ala., died at the mill on Saturday afternoon after falling into a vat containing waste product from finished rolled steel. Nucor issued the following statement from Mike Lee, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel Decatur: “Nucor Steel Decatur and Atlantic Recovery Services, Inc., a specialized industrial […]
The U.S. dollar is continuing to collapse on the international foreign exchange markets. Through Sept. 8, the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar had depreciated by 9.3 percent since Jan. 3 and the decline is accelerating. See the end of this report for an explanation of data sources. The analysis of currency trends is […]
Service center shipments in August failed to perform as well as the average since 2009, according to data from the Metals Service Center Institute. Daily shipments in August were 1.8 percent higher than in July. On average since 2009, August has increased by 3.0 percent, therefore the latest numbers were less than the historical average […]
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 […]
Weakening federal vehicle fuel economy standards would not relieve the auto industry of burdensome regulation, but rather would hurt job growth, as well as the environment, maintains the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA), a coalition of American labor unions and environmental organizations whose mission is to “work together to solve today’s environmental challenges in ways that create […]
Editor’s note: Mario Briccetti of Briccetti & Associates, a supply chain consulting firm, offers the following commentary: I had the opportunity to interview the CEO of Big River Steel, David Stickler, at Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Conference in August. Much of the conference was focused on trade issues, but Mr. Stickler’s remarks struck me […]
Nucor expects earnings to be lower in third quarter compared to second quarter. Although Nucor sheet mills are operating at high utilization rates, pricing is not keeping pace with raw material costs due to pressure from imports. Plate demand has been tepid in end-use markets following a restocking of inventory in the supply chain earlier […]
Long-term success requires strategic succession planning, said David Wolfort, president of Olympic Steel, who addressed members of the Association of Steel Distributors at their September regional meeting in Pittsburgh. Olympic Steel was founded with $17,000 in 1954 by brothers Sol Siegal and Sam Sigel (yes, the spellings are correct) as a family enterprise focused on […]
The Producer Price Index of commodities increased by 3.8 percent in the 12 months through August 2017, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS released its series of producer price indexes (PPIs) for more than 10,000 goods and materials this week. The latest release reported results through August. For […]
The Producer Price Index of commodities increased by 3.1 percent for the 12 months ended in November, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics—the largest advance since the 12 months ending January 2012. On Thursday, the BLS released its series of producer price indexes (PPIs) for more than 10,000 goods and […]
Imports continued to increase their share of the steel sheet market in July. Apparent supply is a proxy for market demand. For all sheet products except other metallic coated, demand had positive momentum in three months through July. This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through July 2017 and year-on-year changes. It then compares […]