A steelworker at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor died early on Monday after a golf cart-style buggy he was driving went under a stationary scrap trailer. Alfred Candena, 61, a line operator, was working with coworkers to move a strip of steel broken off from a weld on the trailer. “After initial response by coworkers, he was […]
Nucor offered fourth-quarter guidance on Wednesday, forecasting a decrease in earnings compared to the third quarter. Fourth-quarter results are expected to be in the range of $0.50 to $0.55 per diluted share compared to third-quarter consolidated net earnings of $0.79 per diluted share and comparable to year-ago earnings. Imports continue to negatively impact the U.S. […]
The World Trade Organization finished its 11th ministerial conference on Wednesday without making significant progress on multilateral issues. Nearly 4,000 ministers, trade officials and delegates from the 164 members of the WTO attended the 11th ministerial conference, along with observers and the global press. The meetings opened on Sunday with members chafing from criticism by […]
The Italian-Argentine industrial consortium Techint Group and its Ternium subsidiary are planning to construct a $1 billion hot rolled steel mill in Monterrey, Mexico. The mill will be part of an expansion of Techint’s industrial center in Nuevo León, where the consortium first started operations in 2013. The rolling mill will have an annual capacity […]
Washing machine manufacturers Samsung and LG won a partial victory in the Section 201 safeguard investigation initiated by Whirlpool and GE. Whirlpool is asking for quotas and a 50 percent digressive tariff on imports of all large residential washers (LRWs) in 2018. Beginning in 2019, the rate would be reduced to 49 percent and then […]
The Section 232 investigation into steel imports fails to meet approval by the Defense Department, according to Inside U.S. Trade sources. After reviewing a draft report earlier this year, the Defense Department determined that trade restrictions proposed by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would “unnecessarily vex U.S. allies.” A source told Inside U.S. Trade that the […]
Withdrawal from NAFTA is looking more likely, said Democratic and Republican senators who met separately with President Trump and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer last week. Six Republicans who attended a meeting at the White House on Tuesday said it is likely the president will trigger the withdrawal process after the sixth round of talks […]
Preliminary antidumping duties were determined Thursday by the Department of Commerce on circular welded non-alloy steel pipe imports from South Korea. An antidumping margin of 38.16 percent was assigned to CWP manufactured by Hyundai Steel Co. and 23.17 percent duties on imports from Aju Besteel Co., Nexteel, and SeAH Steel Corp. Husteel received an antidumping […]
The Commerce Department’s Vietnam circumvention ruling on Tuesday represents a departure in the U.S. government’s interpretation of what constitutes adding “minor or insignificant” value to a product. This is a key issue in determining whether importation of a product from a country not directly subject to a trade remedy amounts to a “circumvention” of existing […]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned against protectionism at a meeting of business leaders in China on Wednesday, offering a thinly veiled criticism of the Trump trade agenda. “We are at a pivot point in the world right now, where we decide whether we work together in an open and confident way and succeed or whether […]
In preliminary rulings today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold-rolled flat products imported from Vietnam, produced from substrate originating in China, are circumventing existing antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders. As a result, Commerce will instruct Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to begin collecting cash deposits on the […]
The Senate passed a tax bill on Dec. 2 and is now in the process of reconciling it with the legislation passed by the House last month. Steel Manufacturers Association President Philip Bell said in a statement on Saturday, “It is our hope that after reconciliation the final legislation will result in significant economic growth […]
It is a busy time for the shipping industries that move the nation’s goods. Shipping sectors are busy lobbying for infrastructure funds to repair aging waterways, ports and rail lines. The U.S. rail system would like relief from regulatory burdens while independent truck drivers are asking for exemption from a new regulation that requires the […]
WTO members showed restraint in imposing trade restrictive measures last year, according to the organization’s most recent annual overview report on trade-related developments. Members implemented 108 new trade-restrictive measures during the reporting period July 2016 through June 2017, an average of 9 measures per month compared to 15 per month in the previous annual report. […]
The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity agreed on a framework Thursday for collectively solving the world’s steel overcapacity problem. The 33 members worked together to develop specific policy recommendations using six agreed-upon principles to formulate solutions for bringing steel capacity in line with demand and reducing trade distortions. Notable is a new sharing of […]
The U.S. Commerce Department has self-initiated an antidumping and countervailing investigation of imports of common alloy aluminum sheet from China. Normally, AD/CVD investigations are initiated by petitioners within the industry who allege dumping or subsidization of a product by one or more countries. Commerce may self-initiate an investigation whenever the Secretary determines a need exists […]
Detroit automakers met with Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Monday to express concerns about the U.S. proposal on NAFTA automotive rules of origin. General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne and Ford Motor Co. Executive Vice President and President of Global Operations Joe Hinrichs […]
Imports of tool chests and cabinets from China will likely be subject to countervailing duties once the International Trade Commission makes its final injury determination. The U.S. Commerce Department issued its affirmative final determination on Nov. 22, calculating final subsidy rates ranging from 14.03 percent to 95.96 percent. As a result of this decision, Commerce will […]
It’s not that unusual anymore to find a service center that has taken its value-added offerings as far as first-stage parts manufacturing. Less common is a toll processor that offers fabrication. Mississippi Steel Processing (MSP) is located on the campus of Steel Dynamics’ mill in Columbus, Miss. For the past two years, it has shared the […]
Argentinian steel pipe manufacturer Tenaris has begun full operations at its new Bay City, Texas, mill. The $1.8 billion facility southwest of Houston will provide seamless pipe for shale and gas wells in the region. “Tenaris is the architect of a new business model in the steel pipe sector,” said Germán Curá, Tenaris’ president for […]
In a news conference on Sunday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the city of Chicago intends to file a federal lawsuit against U.S. Steel alleging the steelmaker has violated the Clean Water Act. U.S. Steel’s Portage, Ind., mill has spilled more than its permitted amount of chromium into a Lake Michigan tributary in two incidents […]
Service center shipments in October exceeded expectations, led by long products and plate, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Metals Service Center Institute data. Daily shipments in October were 1.9 percent higher than in September. On average since 2009, October has decreased by 1.9 percent, therefore these latest numbers were better than the historical […]
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative has finally updated its summary of NAFTA objectives in response to pressure from the Senate Finance Committee to provide transparency regarding the negotiations. Ron Wyden (D-OR) put the confirmation of two deputy USTR nominees on hold until the updated objectives were made public. Wyden said the summaries are […]
Cold-drawn mechanical tubing imported from China, Germany, India, Italy, Korea and Switzerland was determined by Commerce to be sold below fair value. In its Nov. 16 preliminary antidumping determination, Commerce assigned dumping margins ranging between 5.10 percent and 186.89 percent. Commerce also found that “critical circumstances” exist with respect to Dalmine S.p.A. and Metalfer S.p.A. […]
“What if President Trump’s ultimate goal is to kill the World Trade Organization?” That was the question submitted by journalist Eduardo Porter in the New York Times last month. Porter’s question seemed even more to the point last week when President Trump accused the WTO of ignoring its own rules while the United States has […]
The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) released service center shipment and inventories data earlier this week. According to the MSCI data, flat rolled inventories now average 2.1 months of supply based on the 104,600 tons per day shipment rate reported for the month of October. October 2017 shipments were 9.6 percent better than one year […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in October totaled 391,700 net tons, up 9.8 percent from the previous month, and also up 9.8 percent from October 2016, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). On a daily basis, total shipments were 18,700 tons per day in October (a 21-day month), up from 17,800 tons per […]
Canada’s Stelco, Inc., reported revenues totaling $1.15 billion (all figures Canadian) for the nine months ended Sept. 30, an increase of 16 percent over the prior-year period. Operating profit totaled $61 million, up from $8 million last year. The average selling price for the year to date was $814 per net ton, up from $654 […]
Members of the United Steel Workers Local 1915 have ratified a three-year labor agreement with AK Tube LLC, a subsidiary of AK Steel, covering about 100 hourly production employees at the company’s Walbridge, Ohio, facility. The new agreement is effective from Jan. 22, 2018, to Jan. 22, 2021. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement […]
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pushed back at critics of the Section 232 investigation this week, saying steel-consuming businesses don’t “deserve” dumped steel. Associations such as the American Institute for International Steel and U.S. Chamber of Commerce assert that Section 232 restrictions on steel could lead to economic disaster for the steel supply chain, ports and […]