European steel producers are worried about tight supply conditions for carbon graphite electrodes used in electric arc furnace steelmaking, but it may not be as big a problem in the U.S. A global shortage of high quality needle coke has spiked prices and squeezed supply of electrodes in Europe in recent months, said Axel Eggert, […]
Solar manufacturers are hoping for a positive determination in a Section 201 trade case that claims U.S. manufacturers are harmed by global overcapacity and the import of cheap solar modules from China. They are now getting support from the steel industry in the form of a letter to the U.S. International Trade Commission from the […]
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 […]
Shipping complaints about CSX Transportation have prompted the Surface Transportation Board to write to CSX President and CEO E. Hunter Harrison to express their concerns. According to the Board, shippers are complaining that CSX rail service deteriorated markedly in second-quarter 2017, coinciding with significant operational changes at the company. The Board received a number of […]
The Commerce Department has extended the deadline for determinations in the anti-circumvention investigation of corrosion-resistant steel from China to Feb. 15, 2018. On Nov. 14, 2016, the anti-circumvention case was initiated on CORE steel products from the People’s Republic of China in response to a request from steel companies ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor, U.S. Steel, AK […]
Tomorrow, Monday, Aug. 28, the steel event of the year will kick off in Atlanta. With over 650 steel and manufacturing executives registered, expectations are for this conference to truly be the most dynamic steel conference in North America for 2017. Welcome to the Steel Market Update Steel Summit Conference. This is what the fuss […]
Senior steel executives representing most of the nation’s flat rolled and long product manufacturers appealed directly to Donald Trump on Wednesday urging action on the Section 232 steel imports case. The letter from 25 steel and steel-related companies asked the president to take “broad and decisive action to ensure the ability of the domestic steel […]
Today, 25 steel mills and related companies, as well as the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), sent a letter to President Trump asking that he act on Section 232 and stop foreign steel from damaging the domestic steel industry. According to the letter, 30 percent of the apparent supply […]
In their pursuit of free and fair trade, U.S. steelmakers are often called protectionist—a label they increasingly resent. Steel industry trade groups, including the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Steel Manufacturers Association, have urged the Trump administration to take a harder stance on steel imports. Trade action, including new tariffs or quotas under […]
In their pursuit of free and fair trade, U.S. steelmakers are often called protectionist—a label they increasingly resent. Steel industry trade groups, including the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Steel Manufacturers Association, have urged the Trump administration to take a harder stance on steel imports. Trade action, including new tariffs or quotas under […]
On Monday, August 28, the steel event of the year will kick off in Atlanta. With less than four weeks to go and 575 steel and manufacturing executives already registered, expectations are for this conference to truly be the most dynamic steel conference in North America for 2017. Welcome to the Steel Market Update Steel […]
On Monday, Aug. 28, the steel event of the year will kick off in Atlanta. With four weeks to go and 560 steel and manufacturing executives already registered, expectations are for this conference to truly be the most dynamic steel conference in North America for 2017. Welcome to the 7th Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel […]
We asked trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz what impact there would be on the Section 232 investigation and timing for decisions based on the comments made by President Trump of a delay in the process. Here is what Leibowitz told us earlier today: On Tuesday, July 25, President Trump revealed that he will indefinitely postpone a […]
The American steel industry is facing a crisis that endangers U.S. national security, and it’s time for decisive action, says Philip Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association in Washington, which represents the interests of EAF steel producers in the U.S. In the pending Section 232 investigation, SMA is advocating strongly for a new steel […]
Phil Bell is a brave man. The president of the Washington-based Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) has volunteered to serve on a trade panel during Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Conference next month in Atlanta. He knows full well that his fellow panelists—a trade lawyer, a manufacturers’ advocate and a spokesman for a libertarian think tank—will […]
What was it – Tuesday that I said I thought the Section 232 results would be much less than what the steel mills thought a few weeks back? Last night on Air Force One President Trump spoke about considering quotas and tariffs on steel imports into the U.S. According to excerpts of his conversation with […]
The G20 Summit concluded Friday with some concessions made by members on trade, but still no deadline for the looming Section 232 steel investigation results. Pressure from the United States resulted in the G20 joint statement including a more strongly worded pledge for members to “fulfill their commitments on enhancing [steel] information sharing and cooperation by […]
Metalforming companies are not expecting much change in business conditions in the next three months. The latest Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report indicates that only 34 percent of survey participants predict an improvement in general economic activity, while 58 percent predict no change. Orders are expected to be steady or slightly better in […]
As you can see by the number of articles in tonight’s newsletter, there is a LOT going on and we are working over-time trying to stay on top of everything. For that reason we have put off our MSCI articles until Sunday evening’s issue (we will actually publish them to the front of our website […]
Six leading steel groups in Canada, Mexico and the United States are today urging their respective governments to ensure that negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) include key tenets that would result in growing consumption of steel in North America and increasing intra-NAFTA trade and market share for NAFTA producers. In a […]
During the Section 232 hearing at the Department of Commerce yesterday, Wilbur Ross told U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH) that his report on steel Section 232 will be on the President’s desk by the end of June. This coincides with the prognostication of trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz who felt the President could react by the […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce advised Steel Market Update, as a member of the media, who would be speaking at tomorrow’s (Wednesday, May 24, 2017) Section 232 hearing on steel. The hearing is part of the Commerce Department’s investigation about the need for steel for national security. Here is what we received from the US […]
AISI, WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) Board of Directors today elected John Ferriola, Chairman, President and CEO, Nucor Corporation, to serve another year as chairman of the Institute, through May 2018. “John is a recognized leader in the global and domestic steel industry. He is an outspoken advocate for the […]
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 […]
Robert Lighthizer was confirmed as the new US Trade Representative by an 82-14 vote in the Senate on Thursday. Lighthizer faced some opposition from Republican Senators John McCain (Ariz.) and Ben Sasse (Neb.) who said they would vote against the Trump nominee because of his views concerning NAFTA and his alliance with the Administration’s protectionist […]
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 […]
I have received a number of comments on the LinkedIn posts that I have put out there over the weekend. I shared our “Black Swan” article on my personal LinkedIn account as well as our Steel Market Update LinkedIn group account. I also received a question about the “average margin for a service center” that […]
There have been many press reports regarding the rumor that the Trump Administration is going to call for an “investigation” aimed at steel and aluminum. What our readers may find interesting is there are suggestions that the order may include manufactured products We have seen reports from the press and attorneys for steel service centers […]
When we began planning for our 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference I was actually thinking that I would be able to drop the subject of trade and perhaps work on other issues of “more importance” by the time we reached the end of August 2017. Even with the CORE, hot rolled, cold rolled and cut-to-length […]