US heating and cooling equipment shipments declined further in November, according to recently released data from the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Total shipments in November were 1.768 million units, 6% less than October levels and down 6% compared with the same month last year. November represents the lowest shipment rate recorded in […]
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, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Total US mill shipments of steel products slipped in November and reached their lowest total year to date (YTD). Mill shipments have been fluctuating up and down all year […]
Two Democratic senators have asked that imports of downstream grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) products be hit with Section 232 national security tariffs. Senators Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) and Bob Casey (D., Pa.) sent a letter to the US Commerce Department on Jan. 12 to address this issue. Section 232 tariffs of 25% on imported steel were […]
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, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Flat Rolled = 61.2 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 57.3 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel supply spiked in December, in line […]
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to remove duties on Brazilian hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, and plate. Once might be a coincidence. But three times? That’s a trend. The question now: Is this a big-picture shift in US trade policy toward Brazil? Or is it instead more a matter of inside baseball at the […]
Moving goods from one location to another may seem simple enough. But as we’ve seen in the past few years, it’s not always that easy. Fortunately, there are experts like Anton Posner, CEO of The Mercury Group, who take on the chaos of transportation. The Mercury Group is a consulting firm that specializes in global […]
Last week I wrote about the US loss in the Section 232 steel and aluminum trade dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO). This week, the US suffered another loss—the dispute settlement proceeding under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on the Agreement’s rules of origin for automobiles. The United States has thus recently lost two […]
Canadian drilling rig numbers continue to climb, and the number of working rigs in the US is back up, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of oil and gas rigs in operation is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of demand for oil country tubular goods […]
Let’s just clear the air of any confusion here. It looks like Nucor’s price increase – $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt) – announced earlier this week was a catch-up to an increase of the same amount announced by Cleveland-Cliffs in mid-December. Assuming that’s the case, we’ve had two rounds of price increases since Thanksgiving. […]
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to remove antidumping duties on imports of Brazilian steel plate. The ITC on Monday, Jan. 10, ruled that imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate from Brazil would not likely lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time. Brazil had been subject to […]
We’re less than one month away from the Tampa Steel Conference. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel again, so mark your calendar for Sunday-Tuesday, Feb. 5-7. There are nearly 375 attendees registered, and the list is growing daily. Keep in mind that this is the high season for tourism in Florida, and […]
Sheet imports into the US varied in December, a similar trend also seen in imports of plate and semifinished slab, according to the latest license figures released by the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. All steel imports into the US require an import license to enter through Customs. The license count provides a […]
Higher prices rolled out by North American sheet mills are gaining traction downstream, according to our latest survey results. Service centers report that they are raising prices to their customers. And manufacturers say they are seeing higher prices from their service center suppliers. Both trends are more pronounced than what we saw in late August […]
The latest SMU Market Survey results are now available on our website to all Premium members. After logging in at SteelMarketUpdate.com, visit the Analysis tab and look under the “Survey Results” section for “Latest Survey Results.” Historical survey results are also available in the Survey Results section under “Survey Results History.” If you need help […]
Canadian drilling rig numbers have made a post-holiday rebound, while working rigs in the US declined, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of oil and gas rigs in operation is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of demand for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), a key […]
Steel mill lead times increased again this week, extending by an average of 0.6 weeks across all five products we track. You may recall that lead times for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized products were at or near multi-year lows in our late November market check. Lead times have increased an average of 0.9 weeks compared […]
Steel Manufacturers Association president Philip K. Bell will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 11 a.m. ET. You can register here. SMA is the leading voice of the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking industry in Washington, D.C., which means Bell is ideally suited to discuss important policy […]
The new year is off to a great start, and there’s still time to register for the Tampa Steel Conference as you make your travel plans for 2023. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel again, so mark your calendar for Sunday-Tuesday, Feb. 5-7. Nearly 300 of you have registered already. We’re on track […]
At the start of each year, CRU continues to feature top expectations and outliers for the year ahead. This annual list of expectations is a thought piece, meant to stimulate internal discussions, scenario analysis, and strategic planning around potential risks to the markets we cover. This 2023 edition covers six expectations and three potential outliers. […]
The number of active Canadian drilling rigs dropped for the second week in a row, while rigs in the US stayed the same, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of oil and gas rigs in operation is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of demand for […]
With 2022 now in the past, the door has closed on one of the most volatile years for the aluminum industry. Supply chain disruptions as a residual fallout from Covid-19 and elevated levels of geopolitical risk raised uncertainty throughout the value chain. The shift in import trends has also been a major topic and is […]
Steel mill lead times increased again this week, extending by an average of 0.3 weeks across all five products we track. Recall that lead times for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized products were at or near multi-year lows in our late November market check. Lead times have increased an average of 0.8 weeks compared to levels […]
Cleveland-Cliffs said Thursday it would get higher annual fixed prices for steel in 2023 compared to 2022. “Specifically, with higher sales volumes and a similar mix of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products, the company expects from its direct carbon steel automotive customers an average selling price of approximately $1,400 per net ton in 2023, compared to […]
The number of active Canadian drilling rigs dropped significantly this week, while rigs in the US increased slightly, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of oil and gas rigs in operation is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of demand for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), […]
US consumer confidence provided a bit of a boost and a hopeful sign for the economy as it bounced back in December. Following back-to-back monthly declines, the headline index in December rose sharply as American consumers’ confidence in the economy grew as high inflation continued to ease, The Conference Board reported. The headline Consumer Confidence […]
In our column of Nov. 4, we updated you on the progress that Novelis and Steel Dynamics (SDI) were making on executing on their planned two mills. Since that time, nothing has really changed. That perhaps is profound in and of itself, in that we have nothing new to tell you about the status of […]
Worthington Industries is building cash to strengthen its balance sheet as it prepares to move its Steel Processing segment into a separate business. The Columbus, Ohio-based company said it had had $129.6 million of cash at the end of its fiscal second 2023 quarter ended Nov. 30, an increase of $95.1 million from May 31, […]
Worthington Industries posted steeply lower net earnings in its fiscal 2023 second quarter ended Nov. 30 compared with the same quarter a year ago, driven mainly by declining steel prices. The Columbus, Ohio-based manufacturer and service center reported net earnings of $16.2 million in its second quarter, down 85% from $110.3 million in the year-ago period, […]
Klöckner & Co. announced an agreement to buy Mexican metal supplier National Material of Mexico (NMM) for $340 million. The Duisburg, Germany–based service center said the transaction will be completed through Klöckner & Co.’s U.S. subsidiary, Kloeckner Metals Corp. (KMC). NMM is an independent service center with seven locations throughout Mexico. The company specializes in the […]
Nucor plans to build a new, $370-million continuous galvanizing line at California Steel Industries (CSI) to serve construction markets in the western US. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the galv line would have annual capacity of 400,000 tons per year (tpy), and would increase CSI’s total hot-dip galvanizing capacity to 1.2 million tpy. The project […]