Steel Products
July Chinese Iron Ore, Scrap, and Flat Rolled Trade Data
Written by Brett Linton
August 20, 2013
Chinese imports of iron ore in July were 73,140,000 metric tons, an increase of 17.4 percent from the previous month and an increase of 26.4 percent from July 2012. Year to date iron ore imports are at 457,230,000 MT through June.
July imports of steel scrap were 280,000 MT, down 26.3 percent from June and down 31.7 percent from the same month one year ago. Year to date levels were at 2,840,000 MT for the first seven months of the year.
Flat rolled imports in June were 970,000 MT, a 6 percent increase from the previous month and equal to imports during July of 2012. Year to date imports were at 6,810,000 MT. Exports of flat rolled steel were 2,420,000 MT for July, down 5.1 percent from June but up 23.5 percent from July 2012. Year to date flat rolled exports are at 15,770,000 MT. (Source: China Customs Service)
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products
Active rig count update through mid-May
Drilling activity ticked up in the US but declined in Canada during the week ended May 17, according to the latest release from Baker Hughes.
Mexico’s TYASA breaks ground on SBQ rolling mill
Mexican steelmaker Talleres y Aceros (TYASA) broke ground this month on the construction of a new special bar quality (SBQ) rolling mill in the state of Veracruz.
Biden hikes tariffs on Chinese goods, including steel and aluminum
The Biden administration announced a series of actions on Tuesday targeting China’s "unfair" trade policies. These actions will, among other things, make imports of steel and aluminum from the Asian nation even more prohibitive.
Nucor holds weekly HRC price steady after last week’s cut
Nucor chose to hold its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil steady this week after stunning the market last week with a significant price decline. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday morning that its $760-per-short-ton (st) CSP base price for HR coil is effective immediately. The price is unchanged from the CSP announced on May 6 but down $65/st from $825/st April 29.
US CR tags ease, premium over imports still high
Offshore cold-rolled (CR) coil prices remain much less expensive than domestic product, even as domestic prices have slipped to a six-month low, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.