Over the weekend I was speaking with the CEO of a service center and we were talking about the resistance he was seeing from his plant employees. Many of them did not want to get the COVID vaccine. The office people were mostly vaccinated, but the plant people were not. We discussed the possibility of […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
The Biden administration’s ambitious American Jobs Plan, which calls for an historic investment in the nation’s infrastructure, offers enormous promise for the U.S. economy and steel demand, but it faces pushback on several fronts. President Biden addressed the nation from Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon to pitch his vision for an eight-year, $2-trillion infrastructure spending plan that […]
It’s time to roll back the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and the Section 301 tariffs on imports from China, which are inflicting significant harm on U.S. businesses and workers, argued the National Foreign Trade Council on Wednesday in an appeal to the Biden administration. The NFTC’s briefing paper, “Why Recent Tariff […]
U.S. steel producers, facing intensifying criticism from steel consumers over record-high steel prices, were quick to point to a new report this week from the Economic Policy Institute, which concludes that the Trump-era Section 232 tariffs have been an effective deterrent to unfair imports and should be continued by the Biden administration. The Steel Manufacturers […]
I want to write a few words today about Section 232. Not for or against it. Just some reflections on a trade action that’s been with us for a lot longer than I expected. The catalyst for that reflection was a conference call the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington policy think tank, held earlier this […]
Mill lead times, which means the amount of time it takes to receive (or be promised delivery) for a new order placed today, continue to be highly extended. We share our lead time by product graphic every couple of weeks after we conduct our latest market analysis. We also look at lead times from a […]
Mill lead times, which means the amount of time it takes to receive (or be promised delivery) for a new order placed today, continue to be highly extended. We share our lead time by product graphic every couple of weeks after we conduct our latest market analysis. We also look at lead times from a […]
In Sunday night’s issue of Steel Market Update, I discussed the increase in the days of inventory on order at the service centers. The increase can be attributed to extended lead times, late deliveries and perhaps some double ordering from the distributors’ end-user customers. We saw an increase in the percentage of inventory that is […]
In Sunday night’s issue of Steel Market Update, I discussed the increase in the days of inventory on order at the service centers. The increase can be attributed to extended lead times, late deliveries and perhaps some double ordering from the distributors’ end-user customers. We saw an increase in the percentage of inventory that is […]
The United States’ two leading steel industry associations have cheered the Senate confirmation of Michael Regan, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The move comes as the U.S. steel industry increasingly looks to burnish its credentials as a green industry – and as the potential of a carbon-border tax boosts the economic viability […]
I am going to spend some time discussing Steel Market Update this evening. I started SMU in August 2008 as a one-man show. The company has grown over the years both in size and scope. The sale of the company to CRU has turned out to be a blessing (I think for both companies), and […]
It took 20 years, but the nation’s infrastructure GPA is no longer in the D range. The 2021 Report Card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers gives America’s infrastructure a C-, a passing grade that still leaves plenty of room for improvement. Rail transit was the brightest spot in this year’s report, receiving […]
Registrations for the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference have topped 200 and counting. We continue to work toward having a live in-person conference in Atlanta on Aug. 23-25. We are heartened to hear President Biden speak to having enough vaccine to inoculate the entire U.S. population by the end of May. If true, that gives […]
Registrations for the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference have topped 200 and counting. We continue to work toward having a live in-person conference in Atlanta on Aug. 23-25. We are heartened to hear President Biden speak to having enough vaccine to inoculate the entire U.S. population by the end of May. If true, that gives […]
Biden administration Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo described Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum as “effective” on Thursday. “The data show that those tariffs have been effective,” Secretary Raimondo said in an interview with MSNBC. Raimondo’s comments are important because trade policies such as Section 232, which Trump rolled out in March 2018, fall […]
How close is the United States to adopting some form of carbon border tax to address climate change? What seemed highly unlikely one administration ago is now even supported by the likes of the trade groups representing the American oil and steel industries. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the powerful American Petroleum […]
Mark your calendars as Steel Market Update has a wide array of conferences and workshops scheduled through the month of August 2021. Here is what you can expect: March 30 & 31: Steel Hedging 101: Introduction to Managing Price Risk (virtual) At the end of this month, Spencer Johnson of StoneX, the CME Group and […]
Section 232 tariffs and quotas have left domestic steelmakers and steel consumers in sharply different realities. One side is investing big at home and enjoying record profits. The other is angry about sharply higher costs and is scouting for more steel abroad. That was the takeaway from a trade roundtable at Steel Market Update’s virtual Tampa […]
The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has upheld the legality of Section 232 tariffs following a legal challenge lodged by consumers of foreign steel. The ruling deals a blow to the plaintiffs–Universal Steel Products, PSK Steel Corp., The Jordan International Company, Dayton Parts LLC and Borusan Mannesmann Pipe U.S. Inc.–which claimed that they had […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. President and CEO Mark Millett has been elected to serve as board chairman of the Steel Manufacturers Association for the lobbying group’s 2021-22 term. “The SMA is uniquely positioned to represent electric arc furnace steel producers, who over the last 30 years have emerged as the dominant force in North American steelmaking […]
We continue to receive registrations for the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference to be held virtually next week on Feb. 2. We expect over 400 attendees once the conference opens. Here are some of the companies that registered just this week, those with an asterisk (*) next to their name means they have more than one person […]
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order aimed at more strictly enforcing laws stipulating that U.S.-made goods be used in federally funded projects. Key to steel: The order will further limit waivers to domestic-content requirements for products that are truly not made in the U.S., industry sources said. The move is important because the […]
I received a call from Cleveland-Cliffs in response to an inquiry I had made a couple of weeks back regarding the #6 blast furnace at their Cleveland steel mill. Cliffs wanted to make sure I understand as the #6 blast furnace comes back online that it is not to increase production, only to replace the […]
I received a call from Cleveland-Cliffs in response to an inquiry I had made a couple of weeks back regarding the #6 blast furnace at their Cleveland steel mill. Cliffs wanted to make sure I understand as the #6 blast furnace comes back online that it is not to increase production, only to replace the […]
U.S. steel lobbying groups and the United Steelworkers union want the administration of President-elect Joseph Biden to keep Section 232 tariffs and quotas in place. The steel groups and the union think the protections are necessary because of global steel overcapacity and because of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent […]
Update on Tampa Steel Conference registrations: We are moving past 250 registered attendees for the Feb. 2 virtual conference. We fully anticipate the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference will attract 350-400+ attendees from manufacturing, distribution, steel mills, trading companies, logistics companies, ship lines, port facilities, toll processors and suppliers to those industries. You can learn more about the […]
The U.S. electric-arc furnace steelmaking industry is eager to work with the administration of President-elect Joe Biden to craft better trade, infrastructure and manufacturing policies, the head of the Steel Manufacturers Association said. And those efforts could be fruitful given Biden’s moderate positions on those issues and the moderation that will be necessary to effectively […]
U.S. steel producers are worried that a change to the Section 232 exclusion process could gut the Trump administration’s signature trade act. The focus of concern: The Commerce Department’s potential adoption of “General Approved Exclusions” (GAEs) into the Section 232 exemption process. “If permitted to stand, the GAEs will effectively eliminate Section 232 tariffs on […]