The US Department of Commerce has reached a preliminary determination that producers of tin mill products from China benefit from significant countervailable government subsidies. Cleveland-Cliffs applauded the decision in a press release on Wednesday. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said Commerce found a subsidy rate of 542.55% for Baoshan Iron and Steel and a rate of 89.02% for […]
Ternium announced this week that its new slab mill will be built in Pesquería, Nuevo León, Mexico. The Luxembourg-based Latin American steelmaker had said earlier this year it would build an electric-arc furnace (EAF) and direct-reduced iron (DRI) facility in North America. Brownsville, Texas, had been rumored to be in the running for the new […]
How can SMU’s sheet prices go down shortly after a round of $50-per-ton mill price hikes? Long story short: It’s because we’re capturing both pre- and post-increase pricing in our survey as well as in calls and emails with some of you. And, as those of you who’ve been in the industry for a while […]
The latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey shows an increase in business activity in the state of New York in June after a drop the prior month. The headline manufacturing general business conditions index from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York jumped up into the positive, rising by 38 points to 6.6 in the survey […]
H2 Green Steel has entered into a multi-year deal with Cargill Metals to supply the company with low-carbon emission steel. The Swedish sustainable steelmaker said in a press release Monday that the deal “aims to accelerate global ferrous supply chain decarbonization.” The release noted that Singapore-based Cargill Metals, part of global conglomerate Cargill, “connects different parts […]
North American auto assemblies saw nearly an 11% boost in May, posting the second-best monthly total year to date. The month’s assemblies were also nearly 18% higher year-on-year (YoY), according to LMC Automotive data. A modest decline was seen in supply levels in April, but that easing was in part due to seasonal factors and […]
What to make of the latest round of sheet prices hikes: Are they aimed at stopping the bleeding, getting buyers off the sidelines, or actually getting sheet prices back up again? These are serious questions now in a way that they weren’t after U. S. Steel first announced its price hike last Wednesday. That hike […]
We are counting down the days until SMU’s Steel Summit Conference on Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 21-23, in Atlanta. It’s only a little over two months away. Approximately 755 people have already registered. Our discounted room blocks are almost gone. Register here. The event will again be held at the Georgia International Convention Center, a massive conference center in close […]
Offshore hot-rolled coil (HRC) remains at a discount to domestic product, as prices abroad have eroded at a faster pace than tags stateside, according to SMU’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. While prices of both imported and domestic hot band continue to decline, domestic HRC’s declines have not been consistently as sharp as the […]
Rig counts are down for the seventh consecutive week in the US but up in Canada for the week ended June 16, according to the latest data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The total US rig count stands at 687 active rigs as of June 16, down eight from the previous week. The number of active oil rigs […]
Decarbonization in the steel industry is fueling growth in orders for the SMS group. The Düsseldorf, Germany-based metals technology and equipment provider reported a year-on-year (YoY) improvement in its 2022 results, with sales, order intake, order backlog, and earnings before taxes all rising significantly. Order intake grew by nearly a third to €4.612 billion ($5.04 billion) […]
The July Midwest HRC future started February just below $800, rallied $325 in just over a month peaking at $1,115 on March 9. Over the next 81 days, the July future basically went full circle, falling $311 to just over $800 on June 1. Since the start of June, the July future has rallied almost […]
The solution to the dilemmas faced by Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) is in the hands of the federal government, a spokesman for the Mexican steelmaker told a local news outlet. AHMSA spokesman Francisco Orduña was responding to comments last Friday by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador regarding restructuring the company’s debt, according to […]
Sometimes it seems the whole world is downstream of the steel industry. Now, that may be a side effect of spending my days immersed in lead times, steel buyers sentiment, and hot-rolled coil futures. That would be a fair assessment. However, looking into the testimonies from the Congressional Steel Caucus’ recent hearing on June 7 […]
A poll commissioned by the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) shows the vast majority of American voters support strong trade remedies and bringing manufacturing back to the US. The poll found nearly nine-in-10 voters (87%) agree the federal government should crack down on unfair trade, and four-in-five voters (82%) think the federal government should offer […]
After hitting an almost five-year high in March, US steel exports fell back during the month of April. Exports totaled 768,235 net tons in April, according to the latest figures available from the US Department of Commerce. This was a 13% month-on-month (MoM) and a 7% year-on-year (YoY) decline. Note that March exports of 886,458 […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, contact Lindsey Fox at lindsey@steelmarketupdate.com. US light-vehicle (LV) sales rose to an unadjusted 1.36 million units in May, up 22.9% vs. year-ago levels, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) […]
TT Iron Steel Co. Ltd. (TTIS) has signed an agreement to acquire the ArcelorMittal Point Lisas iron and steel plant in Trinidad and Tobago. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by Trinidad and Tobago’s government, TTIS said in a release on June 7. The company said initial refurbishment and restart of the plant […]
Rio Tinto said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese steelmaker Baowu to explore projects in China and Australia to help decarbonize the steel value chain. The global metals and mining company commented that the move follows the recently announced $2-billion Western Range joint venture in the Pilbara region of western Australia […]
The Congressional Steel Caucus held a hearing on The State of the Steel Industry in Washington on Wednesday, June 7, where prominent steel executives and the United Steelworkers (USW) union gave testimony on issues such as international trade and sustainability. In his opening remarks, US Rep. Frank Mrvan (D.-Ind.), vice-chairman of the Caucus, stressed his […]
Go figure, in the last month, HR spot has continued to decline. The index tied to CME HR futures has given up $140/ST ($1,130/ST to $990/ST). A look at the fundamentals would appear to support the latest market direction. The list includes declining steelmaking component prices (zinc, coking coal, iron ore and scrap), a sharply […]
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports remain at a discount to domestic hot band, though the US premium has declined to its lowest margin in over three months, according to SMU’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. While both offshore and US product continue to decline, domestic HRC just saw its sharpest week-on-week (WoW) fall year to date, […]
Steel shipments in the US fell 1.7% in April vs. the same month last year, the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported on Wednesday. AISI said US steel mills shipped 7,499,979 net tons in April, down from 7,629,985 tons shipped a year earlier, but up 1.7% from the 7,372,430 tons shipped during March. Year-to-date […]
H2 Green Steel has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mercedes-Benz for the potential supply of green steel made in North America. In the same news release on Wednesday, the Swedish sustainable steelmaker said it has signed a binding agreement with Germany-based Mercedes-Benz to deliver ~50,000 metric tons of green steel annually for use in the […]
The Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is starting to idle its mine, concentrator and pellet plant near Labrador City because of the impact of wildfires in Quebec province. The actions follow the Rio Tinto-owned company suspending transport on its 418km Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway (QNS & L) linking the mine to […]
On Tuesday, Ford Motor Co. announced a new head to lead its global supply chain operations, while also detailing other changes to its executive team. Liz Door will be the automaker’s new chief supply chain officer beginning on June 12. She will be taking on responsibilities that were held since September on an interim basis […]
The sale of Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) has reportedly stalled because the investment capital has not yet been received, according to a local media report. The remarks were made by AHMSA’s Alonso Ancira Elizondo in a meeting he had with union officials in San Antonio, Texas, according to an article in Mexico’s […]
Overall economic activity saw little change in April and early May, while manufacturing activity was flat to up in most Federal Reserve Districts, and supply chain issues continued to improve, the Federal Reserve said in its latest Beige Book report. The Beige Book is a compilation of information on current economic conditions, gathered by each district […]
The LME aluminum three-month price continued to make steady gains on the morning of June 2 and was seen trading at $2,308/t. The move marks the successful test of the key $2,200/t support earlier last week. SHFE aluminum prices also traded higher on that day. The cash price settled at RMB18,585/t and last traded at RMB18,665/t, […]
Steel prices continued to erode in May, following a trend that began halfway through the previous month. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended May at $990 per ton ($49.50 per cwt) on average, falling by $130 per ton throughout the month. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products remained Lower during May after shifting to […]