To all of our U.S. readers, welcome back from the Memorial Day Holiday. Each holiday is a big deal to me as this past weekend was one of those rare occasions where I wasn’t writing or studying the market every day and was able to actually take a couple of days off and give my […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by Dave Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. […]
The International Trade Commission is expected to make a decision May 26 on whether the Section 337 filing by US Steel will move forward. The complaint contends China stole trade secrets, fixed prices and participated in transshipping and mislabeling of steel products to evade duties. If the trade action is successful, the US International Trade […]
Steel Market Update received a note from trade attorney Lewis E. Leibowitz regarding an “ex parte” memorandum from former Michigan Governor and current President of the Business Rountable, John Engler, about the AD investigation of imports of cold rolled steel from Japan. Mr. Engler was intervening on behalf of Steelcase and their subsidiary PolyVision which […]
We received this letter from a very large manufacturing company located in the United States. We are unable to identify the company but we think the questions posed to SMU should be aired and a dialogue begun within the manufacturing and steel industry. This is a topic which will be discussed at our Steel Summit […]
In a letter to their customers, West Coast flat rolled conversion mill USS/POSCO announced a $150 per ton ($7.50/cwt) price increase on hot rolled pickled & oiled, cold rolled and galvanized steel. The price announcement is effective immediately as the mill has now opened their August order book. West Coast buyers explained to Steel Market […]
The sales process is continuing for Canadian steel mills Essar Steel Algoma and US Steel Canada. Confidentiality agreements prevent the identities of potential bidders to be released but some information has been slipping out. Essar Steel Algoma Despite the “cone of silence” that the media has called the quiet period around the Algoma negotiations, the […]
The sales process is continuing for Canadian steel mills Essar Steel Algoma and US Steel Canada. Confidentiality agreements prevent the identities of potential bidders to be released but some information has been slipping out. Essar Steel Algoma Despite the “cone of silence” that the media has called the quiet period around the Algoma negotiations, the […]
At last week’s Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST) convention in Pittsburgh, US Steel President and CEO Mario Longhi challenged the steel industry to innovate or run the risk of steel being replaced by other materials. Longhi said during his keynote speech, “There is a revolution underway in advanced materials — a race to […]
Steel Market Update received the following question from one of our readers yesterday (Wednesday, May 18th) regarding the weekly capacity utilization rates that are produced by the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) and are published in our Tuesday evening newsletter. “This morning I was reading the latest SMU report and I was left wondering […]
“U.S. Steel Sinks as Another Wave of Cheap Imports Predicted” was the headline in Bloomberg on Friday morning. The article cites Axiom Capital Research analyst Gordon Johnson who wrote to his clients, “A boat load of imports are likely on the way.” This opinion permeates the financial community and the pessimism is, in our opinion, […]
US Steel has spearheaded an attempt to exclude all Chinese steel products from the U.S. market. But as is usually the case with drastic actions, there are a number of opponents to the move. Companies that use foreign steel in their products have asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to throw the complaint out. Steel […]
On May 17, 2016, the Department of Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determinations in the AD investigations of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products from China and Japan and CVD investigation of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products from China. The investigations cover certain cold-rolled, flat-rolled, steel products, neither clad, plated, […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by Dave Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. […]
According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of March 2016 was 8,716,178 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports and subtracting total US steel exports. March apparent […]
On Friday, I (John Packard) was the speaker on a conference call hosted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst, Timna Tanners. This is something that I try to do a couple of times per year to help the financial community and investors in the metals and mining space to better understand the flat rolled […]
Motions to release details of the “secret deal” between US Steel and the Canadian government were again rejected by the judge presiding over the US Steel Canada restructuring process. Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel said on Wednesday that petitioners for the release have not sufficiently proven that they need the details of the agreement, although he admitted […]
For the week ending April 30, 2016, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) estimated the U.S. steel industry produced 1,711,000 net tons of raw steel, a 1.6 percent increase over the previous week and a 3.8 percent increase over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 73.2 percent, up […]
Baosteel Group refuted allegations of illegal trade activity charged by US Steel in a Section 337 investigation and said they were “shocked and angry” by the accusations. “As a company whose operations are completely market-oriented, Baosteel Group strictly abides by the laws and regulations of the places in which it is operating in its daily […]
In a surprise move on Friday, US Steel requested that the court shorten the CCAA protection period for US Steel Canada. US Steel Canada had petitioned the court to extend the CCAA period to July 28, 2016 but US Steel attorneys requested the Stay Period extend only to May 29. Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel, who has […]
Cliffs Natural Resources first quarter earnings were stronger than expected by many analysts. The company posted net income of $117 million compared to a net loss of $762 million a year ago. Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Cliffs’ first-quarter results clearly demonstrate how far we have come on our turnaround. […]
Last year in conjunction with Steel Success Strategies I had a lunch with a number of steel buyers, executives and two derivatives traders (one being Andre Marshall of Crunch Risk, LLC). We all gave our opinions as to where we thought benchmark hot rolled coil would be by early June 2016 when we will return […]
US Steel claims trade secrets involved in creating Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) were stolen in a Chinese cyber-attack in January 2011. Information acquired included the particular chemistry for Dual Phase steel (grades 590, 780 and 980) and its coating; critical temperatures and holding times for heating, cooling, and coating the steel; and the capabilities […]
US Steel maintains that Chinese manufacturers and distributors use false documents and transship products through other countries to disguise the country of origin. Numerous antidumping and countervailing duty orders have been placed on Chinese steel products over the years. US Steel maintains that China continues to circumvent these orders by using such methods in violation […]
For the week ending April 23, 2016, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) estimated the U.S. steel industry produced 1,684,000 net tons of raw steel, a 0.5 percent decrease over the previous week but a 2.1 percent increase over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate is 72.0 percent, down […]
WASHINGTON, April 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Today United States Steel Corporation (NYSE:X) filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to initiate an investigation under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, against the largest Chinese steel producers and their distributors. The 337 complaint alleges illegal unfair methods of competition and seeks […]
US Steel Corp. announced a net loss of $340 million for first quarter 2016 and a segment EBIT loss of $242 million or $70 per ton. “It’s my perception that we have probably seen bottom,” said president and CEO Mario Longhi to reporters following U.S. Steel’s shareholder meeting Tuesday in Pittsburgh. US Steel began first […]
This evening I was talking with a large steel buyer about the fundamentals of the steel market and how long can prices continue to go higher. I told him that I had spoken with another large steel buyer earlier today who told me they could not understand how the fundamentals have changed in China. They […]
This may come as a surprise to some but, there are many who think 2016 may be one of those years where flat rolled steel price volatility, maybe even extreme volatility, could become the norm. We are now in the midst of a five month upswing in flat rolled steel prices which has taken benchmark […]
SSAB Americas announced the launch of a new awareness program—EcoSmart, to demonstrate its commitment to environmental stewardship. SSAB Americas’ EcoSmart steel contains 97 percent recoverable scrap metal that has been diverted from landfills. The recycled steel contains everything from old automotive parts to discarded appliances. Along with the use of recycled scrap metal, SSAB Americas […]