Noting that “strict enforcement of U.S. trade law is a primary focus of the Trump administration,” the Commerce Department announced its 21st anticircumvention inquiry Wednesday, notable as the first self-initiated by the government without a complaint from the domestic industry. Commerce will be looking into possible circumvention involving exports of certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) […]
The following editorial is by Allan Golombek, a Senior Director at the White House Writers Group, and was published on Aug. 12, 2019 by RealClearMarkets. The steel industry should have listened to the founder of Nucor. In 1986, Ken Iverson pointed out that protectionist measures to save the American steel industry had not had the desired […]
I received a call from the Congressional Quarterly today asking my opinion on steel prices, trade cases, capacity being added to the marketplace, etc. I did answer his questions as accurately as I could, which in many cases are subject to the decisions being made at various steel mills around North America, and whether those […]
Tariffs on some of the $300 billion in Chinese goods due to take effect on Sept. 1 have been pushed back until Dec. 15, and some items are likely to be removed from the tariff list entirely, as the Trump administration faces opposition from U.S. companies that claim the duties are hurting their businesses, The […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office announced new effective dates on billions of dollars of imports from China today. Goods that, according to an analysis from the advocacy group Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, amounted to $28 billion in trade […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Last week, the Department of Commerce, for the first time, initiated an investigation into “circumvention” of antidumping and countervailing duty orders (AD/CVD) on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) from Taiwan and China. This follows determinations on CORE from Korea, Taiwan […]
I sold steel for 31 years. The last 10, I represented a domestic steel mill and a couple of trading companies. One thing I learned, the steel buyers determine the market, not steel mills. We had been hearing rumors of the move U.S. Steel made today regarding moving toward no-index contracts for their 2020 order […]
Steel prices are up, but the same cannot be said for industry optimism. Following a brief uptick shortly after the mill price increases were announced last month, Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has ticked back down. Steel buyers’ comments suggest that concerns about the economy, steel demand and the staying power of the higher […]
The mills may have the momentum today, but three out of four buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week expect that pricing push to be short-lived. About 73 percent said they expect steel prices to drop in the fourth quarter. Another 11 percent said they are not paying higher spot prices […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: JSW Steel USA, an affiliate of a major Indian steel producer, is the first company to challenge the Section 232 steel product exclusion procedure. The company filed a lawsuit July 30 naming the Department of Commerce as the principal […]
For the past three days, I have been studying the nominations of 21 young individuals who were nominated by their companies for the 2019 SMU NexGen Leadership Award, which this year is being sponsored by the Steel Manufacturers Association. The process has been exhilarating to say the least. I decided many years ago that as […]
For a steel industry that is hoping to collect higher prices on flat rolled and plate products, the mills seem surprisingly willing to negotiate, according to the findings from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire. Well, then again, when you announce $120 per ton of base price increases (or more, depending on what your […]
Lead times for steel delivery are slightly longer for hot rolled, galvanized and plate steels following price increases announced by the major mills. The average lead time for hot rolled is now approaching four and a half weeks, cold rolled nearly six weeks, and coated steels around six and a half weeks. Plate lead times […]
The trade war with China escalated on Monday as China allowed its currency to weaken in retaliation for a new round of tariffs imposed by President Trump. The yuan fell to 7 per U.S. dollar, the lowest it has been in 11 years, making exports from China cheaper and more competitive versus the United States. […]
I have to apologize to those who are looking for insightful steel comments from me today. I’ve been busy with the final details of the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference, reviewing the SMU NexGen Leadership Award nominations and planning for the next few Steel 101 workshop locations and dates. My focus has been a little […]
By CRU Analyst Alexander Ordosch On Friday, Aug. 2, the U.S. government announced 10 percent tariffs on an additional $300 billion in Chinese imports that are not already covered by Section 301 (S301) tariffs. About 50 percent of the new tariffs cover steel-bearing machinery, while the rest are non-steel-containing items such as food, clothing, base metals […]
I got a note from one of our readers today about the removal of the U.S. Steel blast furnace(s) and why the capacity utilization rates don’t reflect the change. The answer to that question is that as long as the furnace is still capable of producing (i.e. hot idle vs. being totally shut down cold) […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: On Wednesday, President Trump tweeted that new tariffs would be imposed on U.S. imports from China, an escalation of the trade war that was launched in July 2018. The new tariffs, on most of the products not already […]
Steel Market Update’s analysis of Key Market Indicators shows the present market situation was basically unchanged in the last month, based on data released in July, but half the 36 indicators trended positive and half negative. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data on which we have reported in detail […]
I was pleased that we got 21 quality nominations for our first SMU NexGen Leadership Award, sponsored by the Steel Manufacturers Association. I mention each of the canidates in an article earlier in tonight’s newsletter. I hope we are able to double the canidates next year as we strive as an industry to bring new […]
Price momentum has shifted dramatically in the steel spot market since mid-June following three price increase announcements by the major mills. Both service centers and their customers report rising prices in today’s marketplace. As seen in the chart below, 81 percent of the service centers polled by Steel Market Update just six weeks ago said […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: In a tweet today, President Trump announced new tariffs on essentially all the $300 billion in imports from China not already covered by the Section 301 tariffs. The tariff of 10 percent will take effect Sept. 1. I […]
My final thoughts will be just that as I remember the life of Asa Jonathan Berkowitz, Managing Director for Cotia (USA) Ltd. I met Asa at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch dinner hosted by Timna Tanners in New York City. At first, I was a little wary of Asa and I think he felt […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Recent reports indicate that parts of the U.S. steel industry are being helped by the steel tariffs, while others are being hurt. Sixteen months into the trade war, the division of steel producers into three distinct industries (and perhaps […]
Prices continued to move higher this week and the mills seem to have gotten a handle on price momentum both on flat rolled and plate. Whether this is temporary or not will depend on lead times and the ability of the steel mills to fill their order books. As one buyer told me this morning: […]
Rising steel prices may be giving a lift to industry attitudes. Steel Market Update’s latest Steel Buyers Sentiment Index shows an eight point increase in Current Sentiment and an 11 point increase in Future Sentiment. While a single week’s results can’t reliably predict a new trend, the uptick is a notable change from sentiment data […]
The European Union has prepared a list of nearly $40 billion (€35 billion) in U.S. goods it will hit with retaliatory duties should President Trump decide to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported cars and auto parts. EU Trade Commissioner Cecelia Malstrom said the list of targeted goods has been raised from €20 billion […]
There have been $120 per ton ($6.00/cwt) of flat rolled price increases going back to late June. Nucor announced the first plate price increase late on Friday afternoon. That increase is $40 per ton. I heard from a couple of plate service centers who basically said, “It’s about time.” I guess those distributors will support […]
Steel Market Update data indicates that the mills have been able to collect some, but not all, of their recent price increases. Their apparent willingness to continue negotiating on spot orders, as reported by steel buyers to SMU, casts doubt on the resolve they will need to collect the rest. Certainly, steel prices are much […]
Lead times for steel delivery have continued moving out over the past two weeks as the three price increases announced by the mills have drawn more buyers off the sidelines. The average lead time for hot rolled has moved up to more than four weeks, cold rolled to about six weeks, and coated steels to […]