Tag: trade

The construction sector added 23,000 jobs in February, boosted by nonresidential, according to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC).

Reaction to the price announcements last week by domestic mills varied just a little depending on who you were speaking to. I heard rumblings before the announcements that a price hike of $100 per short ton (st) was coming. After the announcements were made, I had some questions as to whether they were increases at all.

In 2023, Mexico emerged as the largest trading partner with the United States—larger than Canada, and even China. The growth in trade with Mexico has been truly historic—Mexico has never captured the title of the largest exporter to the US. At $475 billion for the year, the value of US imports from Mexico exceeded that […]

A weak start for sheet demand this year has continued to weigh on global prices. European demand outside of the renewable energy sector was weak enough that market participants said mills are likely to cut output further after several furnace restarts earlier in the year. In China, demand has also failed to pick up after recent holidays, and even government announcements of more stimulus measures during the country’s “Two Sessions” meetings failed to boost market confidence.

Antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) rates on imports of cut-to-length plate from two major South Korean producers may soon be adjusted.

A Detroit area steelmaker this morning announced its offers for scrap for March scrap shipments. The drop in its offer prices were larger than most industry observes forecasted, especially for shredded scrap. Many in the scrap community had predicted that prime scrap would drop $40-50 per gross ton (gt) with shredded only down $30-40/gt. But other market participants were skeptical about these predictions given bearishness in ferrous markets, both domestically and abroad.

United Steelworkers (USW) union members in Canada have reached a tentative labor agreement with CN Rail.  

The failure of the trade remedy actions against imported steel tin mill products (TMPs) continues to resonate. Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steel Workers Union (USW) lost the case at the International Trade Commission (ITC) last month. A few days ago, the ITC released its final report explaining the decision against imposing antidumping and countervailing duties […]

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) is urging Congress to strengthen US trade laws. Specifically, Kevin Dempsey, president and CEO of AISI, asked Congress to incorporate the provisions of the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act in any trade legislation that moves forward this year.

When it comes to finding ways to reduce emissions in steel manufacturing, we are in the all-of-the-above camp.

I want to give a big shoutout to the good folks at the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association (FMA) for inviting me to their annual conference this week in Clearwater, Fla. I also want to give a special thanks to the FMA for awarding SMU founder John Packard with a lifetime achievement award – on that also gave me a chance to catch up with my old boss in person.

The March scrap trade is set to pick up steam next week.

Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said he blames U.S. Steel’s lack of participation in the tin mill products trade case for an unfavorable US International Trade Commission (ITC) decision.

The March outlook for most ferrous products is trending down faster than most participants thought as recently as a week ago.

Mexico has said it will place retaliatory steel tariffs on the United States if the US acts to reimpose Section 232 on its neighbor, according to an article in Reuters.

What are some “Black Swans” to watch out for? With the war in Ukraine entering its third year, your mind might understandably move to conflicts overseas. Here is one closer to home to consider: US trade relations with Mexico taking a turn for the worse. I mention that because the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) dropped a (virtual) bombshell earlier this month.

Falling US sheet prices have reduced the attractiveness of hot-rolled (HR) coil imports as domestic mills price competitively to secure limited business. However, tightness in the CR coil market has extended delivery to June or July in some cases, and buyers may consider to import given competitive prices and arrival times.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) executive board has voted to start a new “solidarity project” to support auto workers in Mexico.

Domestic prices have been sliding since the beginning of the year, and I don’t see any obvious reasons why the slide might stop this week. But let’s put the timing of a bottom aside for a minute. The question among some of you seems to be whether we’ll see another price spike, or at least a “dead-cat bounce,” before the typical summer doldrums kick in.

This week, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference convenes in Abu Dhabi, UAE. There are many issues on the WTO’s plate. The question is whether any resolution of these matters is likely or even possible. One of the most important issues is the future of the dispute settlement system, which has been rendered impotent […]

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has voiced the United States’ unease at a marked increase in steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, and what she termed a lack of transparency about Mexican imports of the metals from third countries.

Alan Kestenbaum, the CEO of Stelco, said the company is actively evaluating ways to grow the company, including both organic and inorganic opportunities.

Over my years of observing the steel market, there's been a recurring belief that current market disruptions in either the physical spot market or steel futures are temporary anomalies, destined to fade, and that normalcy will soon return. However, the events of the first few weeks of 2024 served as a stark reminder that this expectation seldom materializes, and that the US steel market is still the most volatile steel market in the world.

Canada will soon require steel imports to report “country of melt and pour” information.

While seaborne trade has been challenging due to weak global steel production, demand for ferrous scrap in the US remains strong, according to Sims Ltd.

Mercury Resources CEO Anton Posner will be the featured speaker on SMU’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 11 am ET. The live webinar is free for all. A recording of the webinar and the slide deck are free for SMU members.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) voted earlier this month against imposing antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of tin mill products from four countries. When Cliffs filed trade cases on tin mill products in early 2023, the company claimed that the failure to get massive duties on imports would result in the closure of its mill in Weirton, W.Va. We don’t know the reasoning behind this decision, only that all four sitting Commissioners voted not to impose duties. We do know that Cliffs plans to close Weirton.

The CRUmpi declined by 1.7% month over month (m/m) to 325.2 in February, compared to a 4.3% m/m increase in February 2023.

The LME 3-month price was broadly stable again on the morning of Feb. 16, and was last seen trading at $2,230 per metric ton (mt). On Feb. 16, LME stocks were reported at 534,925 mt, an increase of nearly 10,000 mt from last Friday. The change comes after 15,125 mt of metal was delivered into […]

The scrap export market has demonstrated resiliency so far this year from the US East Coast. This strength has mainly come from the Turkish market. Despite weakening orders for rebar in their domestic market, imported scrap prices have held up until the last several days. The US West Coast is not as active, but there are orders in South Asia and in South America that are keeping things afloat.