Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel continue to slowly move out as the market sees upward momentum following the mill price increase announcements in January and February. Hot rolled lead times now average more than four weeks, cold rolled and plate more than six weeks, and galvanized nearing seven weeks. Lead […]
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is onboard with an effort to restrict President Trump’s ability to use national security as a reason to impose tariffs. Grassley reportedly has told his staff to work with Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) to create legislation that would garner enough Senate support to override […]
Some notes that I made to myself during the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association meeting in Nashville this week. There is no panic amongst the attendees. Uncertainty reigns supreme, and uncertainty is difficult to live with. No one with whom I spoke was predicting prices to go crazy. Most felt there would be a modest uptick, […]
The Trump administration released its 2019 Annual Trade Policy Agenda and 2018 Annual Report on Feb. 28, outlining its trade policies and initiatives for 2019. The report details how the administration is “rebalancing trade to benefit Americans.” Priorities for 2019 include: Supporting national security through economic security and free, fair and reciprocal trade relations Strengthening […]
The Steel Manufacturers Association remains a strong supporter of Section 232, even as the tariffs face increased scrutiny as a stumbling block to passage of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. SMA President Phil Bell defends the 25 percent tariffs on steel imports from critics who contend they unfairly tax downstream steel consumers. “The gloom and […]
A review by Commerce of antidumping duties on carbon and alloy cut-to-length steel plate from Austria has resulted in an amendment lowering the rate from 53.7 to a new final weighted-average dumping margin of 28.57. Commerce published its final determination in the investigation of CTL steel plate imports from Austria on April 4, 2017. Following […]
In the recent op-ed below, American Iron and Steel Institute President and CEO Tom Gibson reiterated AISI’s support of steel tariffs and opposition to congressional legislation called “The Bicameral Congressional Trade Authority Act,” which would prematurely terminate the tariffs. “The massive overcapacity in steel still exists globally. And China in particular is producing steel at record levels—exceeding […]
Mexico’s Ministry of Economy announced last week that it will renew tariffs of 15 percent on imports of steel from countries that it does not have a free trade agreement with. The tariff does not impact steel imports from the U.S. or Canada. The Ministry also stated that before signing a new North American trade […]
Good evening from Nashville, Tenn., and the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association annual meeting. It was a beautiful sunny day today, but a bit on the chilly side for my Florida bones… I enjoyed the two speakers that I saw this afternoon. Dr. Chris Kuehl is back in good voice and humor. He entertained the audience […]
Key market indicators were strong in February, but trends have been deteriorating for a year. This report summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe the state of and provide forward guidance for the steel market. The government statistics departments are gradually catching up after the shutdown, but their revised schedules indicate that it […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers in this issue. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com Key market indicators were strong in March and the trends have improved since January. This report is designed to provide a big picture summary of data we have covered in […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive-level subscribers in this issue. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level membership, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com Steel Market Update’s analysis of Key Market Indicators shows that U.S. economic trends deteriorated in April to the worst level in 27 months. This report is designed to be a […]
First, a warm thank you to Tim Triplett, Sandy Williams and Brett Linton for filling in for me as I took a few days off to attend a Board of Trustees meeting in Minnesota (I left Florida to go to Minnesota?). Since I have been out of pocket for the past four days, I will […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has denied a number of requests for the exclusion of imported semifinished products, chiefly slabs, from the Section 232 tariffs. The analysis of one such denial is emblematic of the reasoning […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: We are about to celebrate (or mourn, as the case might be) the first anniversary of “national security” tariffs on steel and aluminum. As we all know, in March 2018 President Trump proclaimed 25 percent tariffs on most steel […]
The Commerce Department announced Tuesday that it has initiated new antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations to determine whether fabricated structural steel from Canada, China and Mexico is being sold in the United States at less than fair value, and to find if producers in those three countries are receiving unfair subsidies. The […]
(Editor’s note: John Packard is traveling.) Just as it appears steel prices have finally turned the corner the pressure is on to get final approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Trade officials in Canada and Mexico have stated in various press reports that they will not pass the new North American free trade agreement with the […]
The Bureau of Industry and Security, a division of the Department of Commerce, announced today that is has denied the requests from California Steel Industries and Evraz Steel for exclusion of semi-finished steel slabs from the Section 232 tariffs. The BIS agreed with an analysis by the International Trade Administration that there is sufficient production, […]
NLMK USA was not among the mills to learn earlier today that the Commerce Department had denied their requests for relief from the Section 232 tariffs on imported slabs. California Steel Industries and Evraz got the bad news. But NLMK USA President and CEO Robert Miller is still angry about it. “The administration, Commerce, BIS […]
Flat rolled steel service centers are beginning to believe a change in spot pricing is necessary. We saw a precipitous decline in the percentage of distributors who were lowering their spot pricing to their customers compared to a couple of weeks ago. One of the proprietary indices created by Steel Market Update is our Service […]
Industry sentiment remains well below levels of a year ago, as measured by Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index. While still at a healthy level and solidly within the optimistic range, sentiment is clearly being tempered by the many market uncertainties. Now that it appears steel prices have hit bottom and may be on […]
The Bureau of Industry and Security today denied the exclusion exemptions for two mills: California Steel Industries and Evraz. At this point, we are expecting the NLMK USA and JSW USA exclusion requests to be denied as well. However, a trade attorney (not Lewis) suggested that we not move too fast with any proclamations. There […]
It’s Oscar night. I will try to keep my final thoughts brief. President Trump has delayed the increase in the Section 301 tariffs against China. The deadline was March 2, 2019. No new deadline has been set. However, President Xi of China will meet with President Trump in Florida in the later part of March. […]
This morning, Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled from Neutral to Higher. Our Price Momentum Indicator was last adjusted on Jan. 28, 2019, when we moved from Lower to Neutral as the domestic steel mills, led by Nucor, began announcing price increases. It is normal for SMU to adjust our […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel continue to inch out as market momentum shifts toward strengthening steel prices. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mills. The busier the mills, the less likely they are to […]
With steel prices in transition following last month’s price increase announcement from the major mills, the tone of negotiations between producers and buyers appears mixed. The majority of buyers report the mills are still willing to talk price on all products but plate, but fewer in the high-demand categories of hot rolled and galvanized. Most […]
The Department of Commerce announced an affirmative final determination on Feb. 21 in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of imports of large diameter welded pipe from Korea and Turkey and the antidumping investigations on LDW pipe imports from Canada and Greece. The merchandise covered by the Canada, Greece, Korea, and Turkey investigations is welded […]
A few weeks back I was having a conversation with the head of commercial for one of the domestic steel mills. The conversation centered around the influence Steel Market Update was having on their order book. In particular, the discussion focused on the SMU Price Momentum Indicator. I was told when our indicator moves to […]
The domestic steel mills have been able to put a floor on flat rolled steel prices since Nucor announced their $40 per ton price increase on Jan. 28, 2019. Now that they have a firm floor, the mills are slowly moving prices higher. In the process, they are very slowly shifting momentum. Steel Market Update […]
President Trump has received the long-awaited report from the Commerce Department on whether imports of automobiles and auto parts pose a threat to national security and now has 90 days to consider whether to place a 25 percent tariff on automotive imports under Section 232. Details of the Commerce findings were not disclosed but the […]