I think there is an obvious case for sheet and plate prices going higher from here. That’s because, on a very basic level, the floor for flat-rolled steel prices, which is typically provided by imports, is now significantly higher than it was a week ago.
The startup steelmaker produced its first rebar at its greenfield steel mill in Osceola, Ark., marking a key milestone by completing construction in 22 months.
Mexican steel trade group Canacero has condemned the US’ actions of raising tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50% from 25%.
The US scrap market has traded sideways from May prices in basically one day without any significant descent, sources say. All major steelmakers, with maybe one exception, issued orders at prices paid in May.
On Monday and Tuesday, SMU polled steel buyers for their thoughts on the current market. We received an array of feedback, including prices, demand, inventories, imports, and evolving market events.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening signed a proclamation that officially doubled Section 232 tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%. There was one exception: Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum from the United Kingdom will remain at 25%, according to a fact sheet published by the White House.
Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves offered full-throated support for Section 232 tariffs on imported steel being doubled to 50%. And the top executive of the Cleveland-based steelmaker said the steel industry wanted to see as few exceptions as possible to the tariffs.
We're about to hit 50% Section 232 steel tariffs. What could happen?
Meanwhile, several US trade groups applauded the latest trade announcement.
Section 232 tariffs of 50% on imported steel will go into effect on Wednesday with few exceptions, according to a top White House official.
US raw steel production rose again last week, climbing to the highest weekly output recorded since last September, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
The American Iron and Steel Institute has tapped four members for its board.
With higher tariff rates on steel and aluminum set to go into effect on Wednesday, June 4, a new round of chaos across the supply chain is likely in store. Expect a significant impact on manufacturers and metal fabricators. But even before the latest round of Trump-tariff whiplash on Friday evening, there was a lot of interesting data coming out of SMU's steel-market survey.
Briefing on the stay motion will be completed by June 9. If a stay pending appeal is granted, it will likely remain in effect until the Court of Appeals issues a decision, which could be months in the future. The case is almost certain to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Timna Tanners, managing director of equity research for Wolfe Research, will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat. Timna has coined Sheet Storm, Galv Galore, and Rebarmageddon. Her forecasts and insights are always though provoking. And she’s not afraid to speak her mind. So it's no surprise that she's one of our most popular guests!
International trade attorneys discuss court decisions this week that left many importers, manufacturers, and even casual observers wondering: What’s next?
Highlights from the week and things to keep an eye on.
SMU’s latest steel buyers 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.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]
After reaching multi-month lows in mid-May, SMU’s Buyers’ Sentiment Indices modestly recovered in our latest survey.
A short tour of key dates in the Nippon/USS deal, and what the future might hold.
We’re just 88 days out from North America’s largest gathering of the flat-rolled steel industry.
Mill lead times shrunk this week for all of the sheet products tracked by SMU and held steady on plate, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
The “on again, off again” Trump tariff train continues to chug along, with several important court rulings this week.
“Unless the administration actually gets serious about levelling the playing field… for consumers of steel, then everything they've done on the steel side is useless."
Most steel buyers responding to our latest market survey report that domestic mills are willing to talk price to secure new orders. Mill negotiability has continued to rise across all sheet and plate products we track, now at some of the highest levels recorded since late 2024.
SunCoke Energy has purchased Phoenix Global, a metals and mining services company, for $325 million.
Coated sheet imports from Vietnam face steeper anti-dumping duties after Commerce recalculated the rates due to ministerial errors.
I sort of expected big news last Friday and over the long, Memorial Day weekend. Because that's become more the norm than the exception for steel this year. Sure enough, Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday afternoon that he had given his blessing to a “partnership” between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel. And then over the weekend we had market moving new on tariffs, this time involving the EU.
Total US mill output rebounded last week to the highest rate recorded since last September, according to raw production figures released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
The European Union is fast-tracking trade negotiations with the US in the hope of avoiding the 50% tariffs threatened by President Trump.