Category: Region

After a brief pickup in September, manufacturing activity in New York state retreated into contraction, according to the October Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

North American auto assemblies fell by nearly 7% from August, but were still ahead of July’s 20-month low. Assemblies were also down just under 1% year on year (y/y), according to LMC Automotive data.

The amount of steel exiting the country in August reached the highest monthly rate recorded since August 2023.

US light-vehicle (LV) sales fell to an unadjusted 1.17 million units in September, down 12.8% from a year ago, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. Despite the year-on-year (y/y) drop, domestic LV sales rose 3.3% month on month (m/m).

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) has made significant downward revisions to its Short Range Outlook for global steel demand.

The Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) reaffirmed on Oct. 8 what domestic steel producers have long known—the threat of excess steel capacity never disappeared and is evolving. China’s steelmakers are boosting capacity and exports, echoing the 2016 global steel crisis. There is no doubt that China is successfully weaponizing excess capacity across many industries, and the fatal damage to domestic production and national security undermines the interests of all market-oriented countries. The question now is: How will GFSEC countries respond?

Cleveland-Cliffs’s Chairman, President, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves hosted a fireside chat with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su on Friday at the company’s plate mill in Coatesville, Pa.

August steel imports totaled 2.38 million short tons (st) according to final data released this week by the US Commerce Departmen

The price gap between US-produced cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore products narrowed slightly again in the week ended Oct. 11, mainly due to a stateside price cut.

US drill rig activity saw a slight increase from last week but continues to hover near multi-year lows. In Canada, rig counts dipped last week but near one of the highest levels recorded in the past seven months.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices moved in different directions this week. Our Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index eased to a six-week low, while Future Buyers’ Sentiment ticked up to a four-week high. Both of our Indices continue to indicate optimism among steel buyers.

CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores shares insight into the hot-rolled coil futures market.

Steel mill lead times inched up this week for most sheet and plate products, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices slipped this past week but remain marginally higher than offshore material on a landed basis.

Negotiation rates have consistently been in the 70-80% range for over two months, relatively strong in comparison to levels seen across the past year.

After a complete stoppage earlier this year, ArcelorMittal Mexico’s steel mill in Lazaro Cardenas, in the state of Michoacán, will soon return to full production.

Stelco Inc. said that the Canadian Competition Bureau will not challenge Cleveland-Cliffs’ pending buy of the Hamilton, Ontario-based steelmaker.

Cleveland-Cliffs has cleared a regulatory hurdle for its pending purchase of Canadian steelmaker Stelco Inc.

Slowing growth in data center planning caused the Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) to pull back in September. The decline followed five months of growth after the index hit a two-year low in March.

On Thursday, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), representing carriers and port operators on the East and Gulf Coasts, announced a three-and-a-half-month extension of the recently expired collective bargaining agreement. The extension kicks the can down the road until Jan. 15, 2025, after the 2024 election and the certification of the results on Jan. 6.

The price gap between US-produced cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore products narrowed slightly in the week ended Oct. 4, mainly due to a price jump in Asian markets.

China is challenging Canada’s decision to put tariffs on imports of Chinese steel, aluminum, and electric vehicles.

US drilling activity remains near multi-year lows, while Canadian counts increased to one of the highest levels recorded in seven months.

A roundup of the week's CRU aluminum news.

Another day, another massive gap between the news and market sentiment. On the news side, we’ve got war in the Middle East. The devastation facing western North Carolina coming into tragic focus. And the outcome of the presidential election remains a coin toss, according to current polling.

While the English language is vast, there is not an endless number of ways to say, “no major changes have transpired.” And if anyone has been tasked with talking about steel price changes in physical and futures US domestic steel market over the last four months, they are probably stretching their ability to its limit.

Construction spending in the US declined for a third month in August but showed an increase year over year (y/y). The US Census Bureau estimated construction spending to be $2.131 trillion in August on a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). While this was 0.1% below July’s revised spending rate, it was 4.1% higher than spending […]

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices moved slightly higher again this past week but remain marginally higher than offshore material on a landed basis. Since reaching parity with import prices in late August, domestic prices have been slowly pulling ahead of imports. This has been driven by a slight deviation in price movements – slow but […]

The United Steelworkers (USW) union has named Kevon Stewart to be director of District 6, which represents members in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. The USW said that appointment was effective on Oct. 1. It also noted that Stewart became the first black district director in the union – not only in Canada but in the United States as well.

Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to imports and evolving market events.