Market Segment
August 11, 2023
Modern Metals: Face Time - Index Reflex
Written by Josh Spoores
July 2023- Facetime: Steel market analyst JOSH SPOORES talks with Modern Metals about CRU steel prices
Latest in Market Segment
Titan Steel closes on buy of Randall Metals
Tinplate and specialty flat-rolled products supplier Titan Steel has closed on its acquisition of Randall Metals. Further terms of the deal were not disclosed. Randall Metals is a family-owned metals service center, specializing in tin mill and flat-rolled metals products.
Steel exports fall in September to lowest rate of the year
US steel exports eased 3% from August to September, marking the third consecutive monthly decline following June’s 17-month high, according to recently released US Department of Commerce figures. Exports have been historically low since early 2025 and remain weak compared to volumes seen in prior years. In September, 615,000 short tons (st) of steel were shipped outside of the country, 2% below the average monthly export rate of the past twelve months. September trade was 3% higher than the same month of 2025, 19% lower than September 2024, 21% lower than September 2023, and 15% lower than September 2022. For context, exports fell to a five-year low of 469,000 st in December and reached a near-five-year high of 914,000 st in May 2023.
Imports fall back slightly in September, slide further in October
Final import data for September from the US Commerce Department shows a slight decline from August’s 15-month high. And October’s license count suggests another month-on-month (m/m) decline in imports. September imports of 2,416,717 short tons (st) were down just 1% from 2,434,108 st in August, a 15-month high. October license data show a steeper 8% m/m fall to 2,214,730 st (Figure 1, left). August appears to have been the peak for the recovery in imports, which has been ongoing since February of this year, when we saw some of the lowest levels since 2020.
Mesabi Metallics’ Broking gives public presentation about proposed Iowa steel plant
Mesabi Metallics President and CEO Joe Broking spoke last week in Lee County, Iowa, at a public meeting to discuss some details about the proposed steel plant set to be located there. Recall that President Trump announced in late September that Mesabi Metallics, owned by India’s Essar Group, will build the largest electric-arc furnace steel plant in the US in Iowa.
Commerce sets initial duties in tin mill products case vs. Taiwan, Turkey
Imports of tin mill products from Taiwan and Turkey face new anti-dumping duties (AD) in the US after a key Commerce Department determination. In the trade case investigating allegedly dumped tin mill products, Commerce preliminarily determined that tin mill products from both countries are being sold below fair value.