There are big differences in the year-to-date increase of coiled plate imports on a regional basis. Last week, we published new regional import reports for HRC, CRC and HDG. This week we are publishing new reports for coiled and cut-to-length plate based on the new format. SMU produces import reports by product at the national […]
There are big differences in the year-to-date increase of cut-to-length plate imports on a regional basis. Last week, we published new regional import reports for HRC, CRC and HDG. This week, we are publishing reports for coiled and cut-to-length plate based on the new format. SMU produces import reports by product at the national level […]
A note to those who might be interested, we have a couple of exhibition spots still available for this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta on Aug. 27-29. We will have close to 800 people at this year’s event (the event will be a […]
Liberty Steel is set to reopen on Monday, June 25, in Georgetown, S.C. The wire-rod rolling facility, purchased by London-based Liberty House in December, will be renamed Liberty Steel Georgetown. Currently, the mill is in a testing phase, but is expected to begin production soon. United Steelworkers Union Local 7898 credits the recent tariffs on […]
Steel Market Update and the CRU Group are pleased to announce the SMU Steel Summit Conference will include a fireside chat between CRU Group Executive Chairman Robert Perlman and SMU President & CEO John Packard. Since Steel Market Update has been acquired by the CRU Group out of London, we thought it appropriate that Steel […]
Steel Market Update and the CRU Group are pleased to announce the SMU Steel Summit Conference will include a fireside chat between CRU Group Executive Chairman Robert Perlman and SMU President & CEO John Packard. Since Steel Market Update has been acquired by the CRU Group out of London, we thought it appropriate that Steel […]
Construction jobs were added in 42 states and the District of Columbia between May 2017 and May 2018, while 28 states added construction jobs between April and May, according to an analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America. California added the most construction jobs (50,000 jobs, 6.2 percent) during the […]
Steel imports increased 12.7 percent from March to April to 3.76 million net tons and were 12.1 percent higher than a year ago, according to the latest data from the American Institute for International Steel. The U.S. imported 705,000 net tons from Canada, up 9.2 percent from March and more than one-third higher than April […]
Beginning in July 2018, Steel Market Update has been recruiting flat rolled and plate steel service centers to participate in our monthly analysis. Our goal is to produce a quality data stream out of the service centers, which can help answer questions regarding future demand from the steel distributors. We provided data sources with our […]
Quebec will lend a helping hand to smaller Canadian companies in the aluminum and steel industry that will suffer from the Section 232 tariffs imposed by the United States. The province will offer C$100 million ($77.1 million U.S.) in loans and guarantees on loans after companies reported that contracts were being canceled by customers unwilling […]
Many of you are already customers of CRU but for those who don’t know us as well, John thought it would be useful to say a little about what we do. CRU has been growing our services since we were formed in 1969 in London, and we now have about 260 employees in 12 countries […]
Steel Market Update’s sources reported that the June ferrous scrap trade produced slightly higher prices on prime grades of about $10 per ton and little change on obsolete grades. “There was a significant supply of shredded and cut grades offered into the market, which is not unusual for a June trade. Under market conditions like […]
Most Steel Market Update sources expect prime scrap to increase by about $10 per ton in July, with the price of obsolete grades moving sideways. “Strong demand and lagging deliveries are the driving factors in the July market. Mills will be reluctant to cancel outstanding orders for fear of losing scrap to other mills and […]
Are the markets’ fears of a trade war exaggerated or are their concerns justified? Popular economist Alan Beaulieu, president of ITR Economics, offers the following macroeconomic perspective: Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum coming into the U.S. from Canada, Mexico and the EU are a hot topic, and with good reason. The extension of […]
It is clearly in the crosshairs. What we are referring to is the record for attendance at a SMU Steel Summit Conference. We set the record in 2017 with 667 registrations and 650 attendees (17 were unable to come due to Houston hurricane). Registrations just broke through the 600-person barrier and with 78 days to […]
With 77 days still to go, it is clearly in the crosshairs. What we are referring to is the record for attendance at a SMU Steel Summit Conference. We set the record in 2017 with 667 registrations and 650 attendees (17 were unable to come due to Houston hurricane). Registrations just broke through the 600-person […]
This is not a “kiss and tell story” but rather an explanation of why I, John Packard, founder and owner of Steel Market Update, decided to sell my business to the CRU Group. CRU, known globally for its news, analysis and pricing information, was not the only suitor interested in SMU, but they were the […]
This is not a “kiss and tell story” but rather an explanation of why I, John Packard, founder and former owner of Steel Market Update, decided to sell my business to the CRU Group. CRU, known globally for its news, analysis and pricing information, was not the only suitor interested in SMU, but they were […]
High graphite electrode prices will soon start to show up in the price of steel, reports West Coast scrap exporter Damon Sun of Daido International, who offers the following observations on the market: “The Asian markets will likely take a back seat to U.S. scrap as mills start adjusting for the extremely high graphite electrode […]
The U.S. packaging industry, which relies on imports of tinplate, is among the many concerned about the effects of President Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The Can Manufacturers Institute estimates that 42 percent of tinplate steel needs to be imported to manufacture food cans for American consumers. More than 60 percent of primary aluminum […]
CRU Group, the global leader in steel analysis, prices and consulting, has acquired the highly successful U.S.-based Steel Market Update (SMU) conference, training and newsletter business. The SMU Steel Summit, which takes place Aug. 27-29 in Atlanta, is the premier steel conference in North America while the SMU Newsletter is an industry leader, providing independent […]
Steel Market Update ferrous scrap sources expect a sideways to slightly higher domestic market, while the export markets see some pricing pressure. The following is what one of our scrap and pig iron sources had to say about the domestic market as of this weekend: “The U.S. scrap market should be characterized as firm for […]
Construction employment continued to expand, increasing by 25,000 jobs to 7,210,000 for the month of May, according to an analysis of government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Employers added 286,000 jobs over the past year. Construction employment grew 4.1 percent over the past 12 months, significantly higher than the 1.6 percent rise […]
Last year, it took Steel Market Update until Aug. 1 to reach the number of registrations already booked for the 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Today alone we received registrations from: Duferco, L&W Supply, A.B. Martin Roofing Supply, Ryerson, Lapham-Hickey Steel and Roll-Kraft. We are just a few people shy of 550 and on our […]
Last year, it took Steel Market Update until Aug. 1 to reach the number of registrations already booked for the 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference. On Tuesday alone we received registrations from: Duferco, L&W Supply, A.B. Martin Roofing Supply, Ryerson, Lapham-Hickey Steel and Roll-Kraft. We are just a few people shy of 550 and on […]
Ask almost any mill, service center or OEM executive to name their biggest headaches and trucking will be near the top of each list. Early this year, new regulations took effect requiring trucks to be equipped with electronic logging devices to limit drivers’ hours behind the wheel, creating an immediate shortage of trucking capacity. Trucks […]
This morning, World Trade Online reported Brazil as “pushing back on Section 232 quota deal with the U.S.” I did some research on my own to see if traders associated with Brazil, Argentina or other markets that may have verbal agreements with the Trump administration regarding quotas were having issues due to negotiations with the […]
Marking a win for U.S. steelmakers, the Commerce Department on Monday officially slapped duties on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) and certain cold rolled steel products imported from Vietnam that were produced from substrate originating in China. Commerce determined that even though the products underwent some processing in Vietnam, they should still be subject to the same […]
Flat rolled prices increased slightly on most products this past week, according to the steel price indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Plate prices were seen as being slightly lower than what was published one week ago. Benchmark hot rolled has been relatively stable over the past few weeks. SteelBenchmarker, which only publishes prices twice […]
Union Partners, the Chicago-based metals and logistics company, has hired Jay Ervin as vice president of business development. In this new role, Ervin will be responsible for managing the company’s sales, customer and prospect strategies, as well as strategic partnerships. Ervin formerly held numerous sales and management roles in 14 years with Leeco Steel. “As […]