Category: Features

Domestic raw steel production is now at the lowest level seen since mid-November. This comes just two weeks after production had recovered to a three-month high.

I’m not sure what to say about President Biden’s blocking Nippon Steel’s deal for U.S. Steel that hasn’t already been said. I think it’s fair to say, as U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt did, that this was ultimately all about politics and had very little to do with national security. SMU has tried to remain […]

Global steel mill output totaled 146.8 million metric tons (mt) in November, marking the third-lowest monthly rate seen in 2024 to date.

The number of active oil and gas rigs operating in the US held steady this week for the fifth consecutive week, while Canadian activity declined further, according to the latest figures released from Baker Hughes.

We never eat chicken on New Year’s Day. My Irish-Catholic grandmother thought it was bad luck – because chickens scratch backward. And one should start the year looking forward. But it’s hard to avoid the fact that we’re carrying a lot 2024 issues (and even 2023 ones) forward into 2025. That’s not all bad. We’re starting 2025 with SMU’s hot-rolled coil price at $675/per short ton (st). That’s $370/st lower than $1045/st at the outset of 2023, according to our interactive pricing tool. I think we can safely say that a decline of that magnitude won’t happen in 2025.

SMU’s Monthly Review provides a summary of important steel market metrics for the previous month. Our latest report includes data updated through December 31st.

The US Department of Commerce has determined that anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs) on welded line pipe imports from China and Japan should remain in place for five more years.

The 36th annual Tampa Steel Conference is just four weeks away. We now have over 300 people registered to join us at the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street from Sunday, Feb. 2, through Tuesday, Feb. 4. Join us along with hundreds of industry participants in warm and sunny Florida!

SMU offices will be closed from Monday, Dec. 23, 2024 through Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.

At holiday time, it’s customary to think about what’s happened during the year gone by and what to hope for (or brace for) in the next.

And just like that, we’re wrapping up the last SMU newsletter of 2024. We’re closing out our 19th year and looking with wide-eyed anticipation to what 2025 will bring.

It’s not too late to ask Santa for what you really want this year. We’re less than two months away from the 36th annual Tampa Steel Conference! More than 300 people from over 150 companies have already registered to attend at the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street from Sunday, Feb. 2, to Tuesday, Feb. 4. […]

This CRU Insight discusses a few key topics our clients have been asking about as 2024 comes to a close and 2025 begins. This piece introduces these topics briefly now before we discuss them in more detail in a webinar in January 2025. In previous years, we have published a year-end Insight on our ‘Top […]

Both of our Sentiment Indices remain in positive territory and indicate that steel buyers are optimistic about the success of their businesses.

SMU looks back at stories from Decembers past, one, five, 10, and 100 years ago.

Steel mill production times have seen very little change since September, according to buyers participating in our latest market survey.

Steel buyers of sheet and plate products say mills are still willing to bend on spot pricing this week, though not quite as much as they were two weeks prior, according to our most recent survey data.

Lawrence D. ‘Larry’ Romboski, Jr.'s career in steel spanned 35 years, most recently serving as VP of sales for NLMK USA.

“New commodity-specific tariffs, mainly on steel and aluminum products, could widen price differentials and divert trade flows,” the credit agency forewarned.

The Commerce Department is raising the import duties on imports of corrosion-resistant sheet and cut-to-length plate from Korea.

It's that time of year again. You know, that time when people wonder if those things are drones in New Jersey or if the aliens are ready to come onto the stage just in time for Inauguration Day. What will that do for steel price volatility? In any case, the SMU team finds itself in Pittsburgh this week.

Shipments of heating and cooling equipment were stable from September to October, AHRI said.

Domestic production remains significantly low compared to levels recorded earlier in the year.

The Community Chat last Wednesday with ITR economist Taylor St. Germain is worth listening to if you couldn’t tune in live. You can find the replay and Taylor’s slide deck here. You can also find SMU reporter Stephanie Ritenbaugh’s writeup of the webinar here. Taylor is Alan Beaulieu’s protégé at ITR. Many of you know Alan from his talks at SMU Steel Summit. I found Taylor’s analysis just as insightful as Alan’s.

The world has had a few shocks recently. The CEO of a major health insurance company was gunned down in Manhattan. The 50-year Assad dynasty in Syria was pushed out less than two weeks after rebels started an offensive. And President-elect Trump is promising tariffs on everything a month before he takes office. But one shock has been taking place for a lot longer than the last few weeks. The 70-year consensus on trade hasn’t just been challenged. It’s been repudiated.

Trends in energy prices and active rig counts are leading demand indicators for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), line pipe and other steel products

We are less than two months away from the 36th annual Tampa Steel Conference! We hope you will join us there!

Cracks have formed in what has been presented as the Biden administration’s united front against Nippon Steel’s play for U.S. Steel. A report from the Financial Times said parts of the administration are at odds on the deal.

Referred to as ‘apparent steel supply’, we calculate this volume by combining domestic steel mill shipments with finished US steel imports and deducting total US steel exports.

The volume of steel exported from the country declined in October for the second-consecutive month, following a one-year high in August.