By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz At the last minute, the U.S. and EU announced a deal to keep the tariff wars from getting worse. Yesterday, at the G20 meeting in Rome, the two sides announced an agreement that will prevent major retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports to Europe from going into effect on Dec. 1. […]
We’re all on the same price roller coaster, and that’s true whether we’re talking steel, plastic or wood. But we’re not all on the same car – and so your impression of the market might be vastly different if you’re in the front car instead of the back one. That’s the impression I got while speaking […]
The U.S. and European Union (EU) announced a deal this weekend that removes Section 232 tariffs on imports from the EU and replaces them with a tariff rate quota (TRQ) system. The agreement ends a dispute dating back to 2018 when President Trump imposed Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, and it heads […]
The U.S. and the European Union (EU) could reach a deal that would lead to the removal Section 232 tariffs from steel imports from the trade bloc as soon as this weekend, according to sources familiar with the matter. The two sides would most likely agree to a tariff rate quota, or TRQ, which would replace […]
Despite all the uncertainty over the economy and steel prices as the year nears an end, sentiment among steel buyers remains extremely optimistic versus historical levels, as measured by Steel Market Update. But this week’s check of the market saw a small decline to the lowest sentiment reading since July. SMU surveys buyers every two […]
“Business is great! Why is Steel Market Update always spreading so much gloom and doom about falling steel prices?” That’s not an actual quote, but we hear comments to that effect nearly every week. As if folks believe it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Of course, if prices decline, it won’t be because of some […]
Lead times for orders of flat rolled and plate steel from the mills have shortened again compared to this time last month. About 60% of the buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s survey this week describe lead times as just “slightly longer than normal.” Only 15% still consider them “highly extended.” SMU’s check of the […]
Steel Market Update data suggests buyers continue to gain some leverage in price negotiations. SMU asks buyers every two weeks if the mills are willing to talk price on spot orders. Around 50% of hot rolled buyers responding to this week’s poll said some mills are now willing to bargain to secure an order. That’s […]
I thought I’d be writing today that Steel Market Update had switched all its steel pricing momentum indicators to lower. But what you think should happen and what reality serves up are sometimes very different things. Hot-rolled coil prices continued to fall – they’re down $25 per ton compared to last week. That’s not a surprise. […]
Do you sense the steel market is changing? “There is definitely a different tone to the market over the past few weeks,” said one of the many buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week expressing similar views: “There are many more sellers than buyers now. Domestic pricing will slide soon.” “The market has […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has been traveling. She has a lot on her plate. In an effort to attract allies to the United States’ plan to rein in China, the U.S. has floated a proposal, according to reports, to replace the 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs with a […]
SMU’s next Community Chat webinar will feature Mike Del Giudice, a principal with the Crowe consulting group. Del Giudice will share his expertise in cybersecurity. The free webinar begins at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT) on Wednesday, Nov. 3. Click here to register. Why should you care about cyber? Because ransomware is one of the […]
SMU’s next Community Chat webinar will feature Mike Del Giudice, a principal with the Crowe consulting group. Del Giudice will share his expertise in cybersecurity. The free webinar begins at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT) on Wednesday, Nov. 3. Click here to register. Why should you care about cyber? Because ransomware is one of the […]
The U.S. will “move away” from Section 232 tariffs on steel from the European Union, Nucor’s top executive said. “What the final outcome looks like – whether it’s a tariff rate quota, we’ll wait and see,” Leon Topalian, president and CEO of the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker, said during a conference call with analysts on Thursday. […]
I have received a few messages wishing me well on my retirement. I don’t want to disappoint anyone, but word of my retirement from Steel Market Update and the steel industry is a bit premature. I have transitioned from a full-time employee to that of a consultant to SMU. I will continue to speak to […]
Steel Warehouse has withstood the test of the past year, but “it’s a pass-fail course and the assignments are always changing,” said Mike Lerman, president of the South Bend, Ind.-based service center. Lerman was the guest speaker for Wednesday’s Steel Market Update Community Chat. Steel Warehouse was founded by Lerman’s father, Nathan, in 1947 “with […]
Steel Market Update has adjusted our steel pricing momentum indicator for hot-rolled coil lower. That’s not something we’ve done since July 21, 2020 – and it’s not a decision we took lightly. But the evidence is hard to ignore. Our hot rolled coil price now stands at $1,910 per ton ($95.50 per cwt), down $10 per ton […]
Monthly Key Market Indicators, as analysed by Steel Market Update, softened again in the past month. A typical summer slowdown followed by a surge in COVID variant cases, compounded by a lackluster job market, reflects an uneasy economic landscape. Consumer confidence has dwindled, highlighted by decreases in key indicators across the marketplace. SMU’s Key Market Indicators […]
It’s hard for most service center executives to feel any urgent concern about declining steel prices as long as demand seems so strong. But there are signs in Steel Market Update’s survey data this week that suggest demand is moderating. With prices likely to follow. SMU asked: How are you seeing demand for your products? […]
Service center executive Michael Lerman of Steel Warehouse will be the featured speaker during Steel Market Update’s next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). Lerman is the president of Steel Warehouse, a private, family-owned service center chain – one of the largest of its kind in […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz I used to love a PBS show called Connections. The title is still around, and I recall an episode years ago that explored the Space Shuttle. Thousands of “connections” were necessary before the spacecraft became a reality: chemistries to make substances capable of withstanding re-entry temperatures, power systems for rockets, […]
SMU has updated the survey data we collect to better detect shifts in buying patterns between domestic and foreign steel. We know from Commerce Department figures that flat-rolled steel imports have been running at or above one million short tons a month since May – well above a monthly average of approximately 800,000 short tons […]
Flat Rolled = 54.5 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 54.9 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories grew in September to the highest level seen since August 2020, according to Steel Market Update data. At the end of September, service centers carried 54.5 shipping days of supply on an […]
When the books are written on a historic year for steel prices, we will probably look back at August and September as the months when things started falling apart. Why? Because that’s when the extraordinay gaps – between U.S. steel prices and those abroad, between steel prices and scrap prices, and between market senitment and […]
Mill lead times for orders of flat rolled and plate products have shortened significantly over the past month. Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market shows the average lead times for hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel have come in by roughly three-fourths of a week. The typical hot rolled lead time is […]
Since this time last year, mills have been in the driver’s seat when it comes to steel price negotiations. With demand exceeding supplies – and with buyers more concerned about finding steel than what they had to pay for it – mills have basically been able to steer prices wherever they wanted. That appears to be changing, […]
Service center executive Michael Lerman of Steel Warehouse will be the featured speaker during Steel Market Update’s next SMU Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT). Lerman is the president of Steel Warehouse, a private, family-owned service center chain – one of the largest of its kind in […]
Sentiment among steel buyers tends to mirror steel prices. The higher the steel price, the higher the spirits of service center and manufacturing executives and the more optimistic they feel about their prospects. Steel Market Update data shows that the record-high steel prices of the past year have begun to moderate. But Steel Buyers Sentiment […]
As I bounce around the market this week talking to steel buyers, I am trying to get a better feel for potential changes, how contract negotiations are going, how receptive end-user customers are toward the higher prices being offered (compared to one year ago), and what kind of foreign steel offers are out there. The […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz A reader turned me on to a recent column by former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. I have known Ambassador Lighthizer for quite a few years now. He is smart and an able advocate. But that does not mean we see eye to eye. The column, which appeared in the […]