With a presidential election on the horizon, the AIST Town Hall Forum asked steel executives how a new administration may affect the steel industry and trade. “I continue to expect bipartisan support in Washington for American workers, American steelmaking, regardless of who is in the White House,” said U.S. Steel CEO Dave Burritt. “But I […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The nation and the world saw a greater than normal number of presidential announcements in the past week. I debated Philip Bell, the president of the Steel Manufacturers Association, on issues related to Section 232 at the SMU […]
Two out of three steel buyers polled by Steel Market Update believe the coronavirus has permanently changed the way they do business. Sixty-five percent of the respondents to SMU’s questionnaire last week expect less travel and more working from home to become common practice, among other changes. Following are some of their comments: “There will […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: As a participant of long standing in the saga of international trade cases, I can say that this week was particularly interesting. First, the U.S. International Trade Commission did something unusual—last Tuesday, it made a final negative determination […]
On Thursday I provided some of the feedback I was getting from those involved in both the sales and purchasing of flat rolled steel into the North American markets. The comments continued to flow in and here are a couple more that I found interesting: The general manager of a service center provided these insights […]
Steel Dynamics reported record steel shipments of 10.8 million tons and net sales of $10.5 billion in 2019 for the company’s second-best sales performance. Steel fabrication also set a yearly record with shipments of 644,000 tons, and almost doubled its operating income from 2018. Sales declined 11 percent to $11.5 billion from the record high […]
Commercial Metals Company is looking forward to a steady construction market in 2020 for its merchant bar and rebar products. “We are positioned to continue benefiting from the positive trends in our core markets and remain optimistic about the construction market, as many of the macro indicators we monitor point to resilience ahead,” said President […]
Commercial Metals Company is enjoying the rewards of its purchase of four rebar mills and 33 fabrication facilities from Gerdau. The acquisition added 2.5 million tons of rolling capacity and increased fabrication capacity by almost 50 percent. “The systems integration was flawless and got completed in less than four months, well ahead of schedule,” said […]
I received a call from the Congressional Quarterly today asking my opinion on steel prices, trade cases, capacity being added to the marketplace, etc. I did answer his questions as accurately as I could, which in many cases are subject to the decisions being made at various steel mills around North America, and whether those […]
By Paul Lowrey Editor’s note: Paul Lowrey is an industry consultant and president of Steel Research Associates, LLC. He will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Steel Market Update Steel Summit Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. Click here for more information and to register for the summit. Recent announcements of new flat rolled capacity have […]
By Paul Lowrey Editor’s note: Paul Lowrey is an industry consultant and president of Steel Research Associates, LLC. He will be a featured speaker at the upcoming Steel Market Update Steel Summit Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. Click here for more information and to register for the summit. Recent announcements of new flat rolled capacity have […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum posted a good first quarter with net sales of $2.96 billion, increasing 7.2 percent year-over-year and 4.1 percent from the fourth quarter. Net income jumped 122 percent from the fourth quarter to $190.1 million. Tons sold increased 5.2 percent from the fourth quarter to 1.5 million tons, but were slightly below […]
Data in Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index were slightly more optimistic this week, though comments from respondents reflect concerns in the market about trade issues, steel demand and the economy. We also continue to see Current Sentiment as being less optimistic than at this time one year ago. However, our Future Sentiment Index […]
Declining steel prices may have turned around following price increase announcements from the mills, but there’s no sign yet of a similar uptick in steel buyers’ sentiment. Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index, which has been generally trending downward for the past year, saw another slight dip in early March. The goal of the […]
Manufacturing activity slowed its rate of growth in February, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The headline PMI fell further than expected last month, coming in at 54.2, a 2.4 point decline, and below the general consensus of 55.0. “Production expansion continued in February, but at a slower pace compared to January,” […]
Service center executives polled by Steel Market Update on Monday and Tuesday reported spot prices firming up, though perhaps not enough for the mills to collect both $40 increases they have announced in the past month. Below are some of their comments on the current price momentum for flat rolled and plate steel, as well […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has seen little change since the beginning of the year as the market seeks a sense of direction. While still well within the “optimistic” range, the index has been on a downward trajectory for months. SMU is consistantly seeing both our Current Sentiment Index as well as our […]
Nucor Corp. announced on Monday that it is scouting the Midwest for a suitable location to build a $1.35 billion EAF mill that is capable of producing 1.2 million tons of steel plate products annually. Nucor expects site selection to be completed in 2019 and construction to begin as soon as permits are secured. The […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: When is a product from Japan instead of China? Turns out, it depends on why you’re asking. For purposes of the required “marking” of imported products, U.S. Customs and Border Protection decides whether a product composed of several […]
AK Steel earnings slipped a bit in the second quarter due to production disruptions at two of its facilities. Net income totaled $56 million, down from $77.2 million a year ago. Results were impacted by $11.5 million in operational costs associated with a power outage at Butler Works and a fire at the temper mill […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I spoke with a good friend over the weekend about the Trump tariff policy. So far, we have tariffs against all countries on steel and aluminum (with very few exceptions), and China-specific tariffs on $34 billion […]
Steel executives canvassed by Steel Market Update this week reported that demand remains strong, though they are less confident about conditions later in the year. Many expressed concern about the tariffs and trade issues unfolding in Washington, difficulty with trucking and logistics, and the impact of high steel prices on their customers. Following are some […]
The data from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire shows some erosion in Future Sentiment. The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index measures how buyers and sellers of flat rolled and plate steels feel about their companies’ ability to be successful both now and three to six months into the future. Buyers and sellers of […]
The trade war with China has begun. On June 15, the United States announced it will place 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods. The announcement was swiftly followed by one from China imposing retaliatory tariffs in an equivalent amount. In a statement on Friday, President Trump said: “My great friendship with President […]
U.S. steelmakers filed trade cases this week on cold rolled and corrosion resistant (CORE) steels alleging that Korea and Taiwan are guilty of using the same circumvention tactics as the Chinese–namely sending hot rolled and cold rolled substrate to Vietnam. As many predicted, the Commerce Department’s recent Chinese circumvention ruling has set a precedent that […]
I am excited for you, our customers. I have been working closely with the CRU Group, and our members will begin to see some subtle changes to the articles we write. One will be the use of CRU data on such items as our Foreign vs. Domestic Price Spread articles, which we will publish in […]
As a trade war continues to build over the Section 232 steel and aluminum measures, some senators are looking to curb the president’s authority to unilaterally impose tariffs. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is leading the effort along with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) to challenge President Trump’s ability to levy trade restrictions on the grounds of […]
It has been an incredibly busy day. The Trump administration was busy taking care of our “friends…” Canada, Mexico and the European Union are no longer excluded from the 232 tariffs. I got a note from a mill friend of mine who laid out the scenario as he saw it: “The irony of this whole […]
I spent most of today canvassing the flat rolled and plate steel markets. A portion of the results of my inquiries can be found in our pricing article (indexes) and Tim Triplett’s article entitled, “SMU Q&A: No Signs of a Price ‘Breakout’ Either Way.” Many steel buyers are confused by the lack of clarity in […]
I’ve lived through all kinds of trade cases, Section 201’s, voluntary restraint agreements – you name it. The U.S. government is not good for the steel industry and is not good for consumers of steel products. Gary Cohn is leaving the White House, apparently a signal that the 25 percent steel tariffs are coming your […]