Mexico will not have to face tariffs from the U.S. after coming to an agreement with the Trump administration on immigration. The 5 percent tariff on all goods imported from Mexico was scheduled to begin Monday, but the president called off the punitive measures in a tweet on Friday evening. Said Trump on Twitter: “I […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: On Friday evening, President Trump announced that he was suspending “indefinitely” the tariffs on goods imported from Mexico to the United States. The outlines of the deal that had this result have been announced, but there are no […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Happy Father’s Day, all you Dads! Several items of interest appeared during the past week: Steel and Aluminum Product Exclusions—The Commerce Department announced a new “232 Exclusion Portal” in a notice it published on June 10. The new […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum came under new scrutiny last week. A Supreme Court decision and an announcement by U.S. Steel were key developments. First, U.S. Steel announced the idling of two blast furnaces, due […]
Steel Market Update data supports the widespread view that steel demand is unusually sluggish for this time of year. Nine out of 10 steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this past week characterized demand as flat or declining. Only a small single-digit percentage see improving demand. About 35 percent of the […]
This coming week will be a full week when I will be in my office. I am ecstatic. As with most weeks, this coming one will be spent trying to figure out what will cause this market to turn around. On Tuesday, I will publish our analysis of service center spot pricing to their end […]
Industry sentiment has continued to erode this month as the attitudes of steel executives appear to be suffering from the relentless uncertainty over steel pricing, demand and Trump administration trade policies. The goal of the index is to measure how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful today (Current […]
It’s nearly unanimous that steel prices are in play. More than nine out of 10 flat rolled steel buyers responding to SMU’s market trends questionnaire this week reported that the mills are willing to negotiate price in order to secure the order. The vast majority even reported the mills willing to talk price on plate. […]
Lead times for spot orders of all types of steel products continued to shorten in the past two weeks with demand falling below the pace of steel production. The average lead time for hot rolled is now below three and a half weeks, cold rolled is nearing five weeks, galvanized is less than six weeks […]
Today, June 6, is D-Day. I know there are many who read this newsletter who are well-removed from those who served in World War II. For us baby boomers, the children of the men and women who served either in the military or supporting the war effort at home, we learned early in life about […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison During the last two years, we have become somewhat accustomed to waking up to some fresh, new policy idea of the Trump administration, disseminated via presidential tweet. However, the levying of tariffs on Mexican imports, as punishment for Mexico allowing Central American migrants to traverse their country in order […]
A Mexican delegation led by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard is in Washington trying to convince the Trump administration that tariffs are not the solution to stopping illegal immigration. On Friday, President Trump announced that he would impose a 5 percent tariff on all goods imported from Mexico, with 5 percent monthly increases capped at 25 […]
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users issued the following statement on the one-year anniversary (June 1) of full implementation of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports: The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) is encouraged by the termination of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs on Mexico and […]
Key Market Indicator trends deteriorated in May and were the worst since October 2016, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data we have reported in detail during the month. In it we summarize 36 data streams that critically describe the state of the steel […]
I am in Washington, D.C., attending the joint SMA/AISI annual meeting. I had the unique opportunity to sit down with Phil Bell, President of the Steel Manufacturers Association, and the SMA board to discuss my viewpoints regarding various issues affecting the electric arc furnace manufacturers. The SMA got to see a few of the proprietary […]
Promises of steel tariff relief were short-lived for Mexico as President Trump’s latest tariff move adds new penalties and dashes hopes for quick ratification of the USMCA. Trump announced on Thursday that 5 percent tariffs will be imposed June 10 on all Mexican goods, including steel, until such time that Mexico stops the influx of […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: President Trump announced his intention to impose new tariffs on imports from Mexico on Thursday afternoon. Beginning June 10, 5 percent tariffs will be imposed on all imports of goods from Mexico. On the first of July, the […]
I am back, well sort of… (I took some vacation days this past week. Did you miss me?) I will be traveling to Washington, D.C., where I will be speaking with the board of directors of the Steel Manufacturers Association. This will be interesting as there are no prepared remarks, just SMA President Phil Bell […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Asked a Steel Market Update reader: Why are U.S. prices now so far below China’s tariff-adjusted prices? The short answer is that Chinese exports to the U.S. are subject to antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs) totaling more than […]
Editor’s note: John Packard is on vacation. A year into President Trump’s policy of imposing extra import duties to offset a U.S. trade imbalance, public opinion on the impact of tariffs remains divided, with few seeing an economic benefit, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll conducted last week. A majority of those responding expect […]
Editor’s note: John Packard is on vacation. It appears many steel buyers are holding off on purchases while they wait to see if imports resume from Canada, Mexico and Turkey now that President Trump has reversed himself on the Section 232 tariffs. “Lead times are stagnating/shortening and the mills are in full negotiation mode,” said […]
Industry sentiment has seen a gradual slide since registering +78 in January 2018 and the trend is continuing, if not accelerating. Declining steel prices and disappointing demand in some sectors appears to be weighing on the attitudes of many industry executives. Generally speaking, SMU’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index reflects an industry that is still fairly […]
Now that the U.S. borders are open to tariff-free steel from Canada and Mexico, and lower-tariff steel from Turkey, can the market expect a flood of imports in the coming weeks and months? And what will that mean for steel prices? Last week, the Trump administration removed the 25 percent tariff on steel imports from […]
Average lead times for spot orders of hot rolled, galvanized and plate steels continue to shorten as mill production, at more than 80 percent capacity, appears to be outpacing demand. Hot rolled lead times are now approaching three and a half weeks, cold rolled less than six weeks, and galvanized and Galvalume slightly above six […]
Steel Market Update data on negotiations and pricing corroborate the same trend. More than eight out of 10 flat rolled steel buyers responding to SMU’s market trends questionnaire this week reported that the mills are willing to talk price to win their business. Thus, it’s no surprise that steel prices continue to move lower. About […]
I am flying back to Florida after completing my second speaking engagement this week. I think I’ve logged 10,000 miles over the past few weeks flying to Atlanta (twice), Chicago, Iowa, Minnesota after having previously flown to Monterrey, Mexico, and Los Angeles. I am looking forward to not going anywhere for a week (I am […]
Major steel producers in the U.S. had hoped the president wouldn’t blink on the Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico—but he did—in an apparent effort to clear the way for passage of the new North American free trade agreement. Now the mills are supporting the administration’s demand that steel trade in North America be […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and Analyst Ryan McKinley Steel imports to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico prior to the S232 tariffs were near 12 Mt on an annualized basis. Data from this past March and April show arrivals closer to 7.5 Mt annually. With the end of the S232 on the U.S.’s […]
Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) data, SMU has taken the import tonnage of cold rolled sheet and broken it down into coil and leveled, then it breaks out four thickness ranges and identifies how much was full hard, annealed and high strength. Through March 2019, of the total cold rolled sheet and strip imports […]
I am in Atlanta speaking at a supplier conference for an OEM both today and again on Thursday. As expected, the questions were about Mexico and Canada and where prices go from here. There were also questions about our index versus the CRU index (different methodologies). I am looking forward to revising and doing it […]