Category: Features

I was asked to do an interview for a cable news channel in Ohio about Nippon Steel’s planned acquisition of U.S. Steel for more than $14 billion.

A World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel has ruled in favor of the US in a case regarding retaliatory tariffs imposed by Turkey in response to Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Mexican steel association Canacero has responded to a Dec. 13 letter from US senators, and disputes the claim of a “surge” of Mexican steel imports.

As 2023 draws to a close, I wanted to look back on some of the key events and themes of the year. But I’m going to hold off on that idea because we were – as of Sunday afternoon - still waiting on news about arguably the biggest event of the year, the potential sale of U.S. Steel.

Over many years—even centuries—the wisdom and utility of tariffs as an instrument of government policy in peacetime have been debated. That incessant debate continues, and is likely to persist. 

The 2024 Tampa Steel Conference is coming up soon after the kickoff of 2024. One of the premier steel conferences in the US, it will be a great complement to our record-breaking SMU Steel Summit this past August.

For our last SMU Spotlight of 2023, we had the pleasure of chatting with American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) president and CEO Kevin Dempsey.

Import duties on cut-to-length plate from South Korea and Italy were recently updated by the International Trade Administration (ITA), which is a part of the US Department of Commerce.

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index has moved into growth territory, but barely, after recovering slightly from our reading in late November, according to our latest survey data.

Flat Rolled = 54.0 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 61.7 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled After three months of inventory cuts, US service center flat-rolled steel inventories grew in November as shipments slowed. At the end of November, service centers carried 54 shipping days of flat-rolled steel supply on an adjusted basis, up […]

Thursday felt eerily quiet after a frenzy of steel and financial market news on Wednesday.

The US Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on Dec. 14 proposed regulations for aluminum production under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). According to irs.gov, Section 45X of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) “provides a credit for the production (within the US) and sale of certain eligible components including solar and wind energy […]

A bipartisan group of US senators has written a letter requesting a clear deadline for an export monitoring agreement of Mexican steel products into the US market.

SMU’s Community Chat on Wednesday, Dec. 13, featured Bank of America SVP Ira Kreft.

The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has updated the antidumping duties on coated sheet imports from South Korea and Taiwan.

Steel is up again this week. Scrap is up by a lot this month: $85 per gross ton for busheling, by our calculations.

US apparent supply increased to 8.11 million net tons in October, up 4% compared to 7.82 million tons in September, according to data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

The International Trade Commission (ITC) made its final injury determination in a sunset review of import duties on circular welded pipe from a handful of countries.

‘Twas two weeks before Christmas, and at our publication We kept logging steel price increases from across our fair nation.

This year saw a huge increase in debate and proposals for addressing greenhouse gas emissions, not only here in the US but around the world.

The latest SMU market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Historical survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, […]

Bank of America SVP Ira Kreft will be the featured speaker on SMU’s Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 11 am ET. You can register here.

A count of November license applications suggests steel imports were at their lowest monthly level in 33 months.

SMU asked the two major US steel associations for their thoughts on the Steel Standards Principles. Here’s what they had to say.

SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices both fell during the week of Dec. 6, based on our most recent survey data.

We have seen a wave of service center transactions announced since the beginning of the month.

The percentage of steel buyers saying mills were willing to budge on spot pricing has risen for all sheet products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.

Movements in lead times were mixed in SMU’s check of the market this week – a reflection of the seasonal dip in ordering that is typically seen during the winter holiday season.

On Dec. 6, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reintroduced the Clean Competition Act, an environmental trade directive that would impose charges on imports from more carbon-intensive manufacturers.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel sheet prices, lead times, scrap prices, performance, purchasing, and demand. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact david@steelmarketupdate.com to be included […]