The United Steelworkers Local 1005—representing workers at Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Stelco’s processing and finishing operations in Hamilton, Ontario—will soon be in a legal position to strike. The most recent bargaining update from Local 1005 said their negotiating committee has asked its government conciliation officer to file a “no board report,” putting the Local in a […]
By CRU Economists Filippos Papasavvas and Veronika Akhmadieva, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook. Contribution from CRU Sr. China Economist Henry Hao. We have further upgraded our US Trade-Weighted Index (TWI) forecast, which we now forecast to average 122.7 in 2022 Q4 from 120.5 previously. The change reflects our more pessimistic outlook for all other major […]
US consumer confidence fell again in July, declining for the third consecutive month, The Conference Board reported. Americans grew even more pessimistic about the US economy over the past 30 days, with the latest survey showing declines in consumer attitudes, intentions and expectations in July. The drop came on the heels of an even larger downward […]
Stelco Holdings Inc. expects its second quarter earnings results to be notably higher sequentially and year-on-year but is warning that a weakening steel market will mean lower results for the second half of the year. In a preliminary earnings report, the Canadian flatrolled steelmaker said it expects its Q2 adjusted EBITDA to be Candian $460-470 […]
Eyes glaze over when trade laws are discussed. Despite this, I think it useful to delve a bit into details on occasion. A couple of recent developments prompt me to do so this week. First, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously last week that material injury was not done to the domestic industry […]
Global crude steel production was estimated at 158.1 million metric tons in June as steelmakers around the world cut back on output by 9.8 million metric tons, or 5.8%, from the same period last year, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported. Last month’s estimated production was also down sequentially, shrinking by 6.7%, or 11.4 million […]
World crude steel production tumbled in June, down 5.9% versus the same period last year. Last month’s output was also down 6.7% when compared to May, declining for just the second time this year, according to World Steel Association (worldsteel) data. Global output was estimated at 158.1 million metric tons in June. Steelmakers around the […]
Producer prices rose moderately in June, maintaining a sustained 27-month growth run. Last month the headline index grew by just 3.3%, seasonally adjusted, but was up 23.4% compared to the same year-ago period, the US Labor Department reported. The wholesale level was hit hard by inflation as well in June. The producer price index (PPI), […]
Demand for design services from architecture firms in the US continued to grow in June, though at a modest pace. The June AIA Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score was down marginally month-on-month (MoM) but marked the 17th consecutive month of growth following the pandemic-induced downturn in 2020. The June ABI registered 53.2, down fractionally from […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
The appeal to import cheaper foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) instead of domestic steel continues to lessen, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price comparison. For the past two months, domestic steel prices have generally declined at a faster rate than foreign prices, meaning the potential discount on imported products has been shrinking. After […]
Leaders of the American steel industry gathered with members of the Congressional Steel Caucus on Wednesday in Washington, to discuss the state of the industry and how Congress can continue to support this critically important sector of the economy. Topics of discussion at the Caucus hearing included building and supporting critical supply chains and domestic manufacturing, […]
The US International Trade Commission has completed five-year sunset reviews of import duties on cold-rolled steel flat products from six countries. While determining that the duties on imports from five of the countries should be continued, the ITC also decided to allow the duties on Brazilian product to expire. The ITC conducted full sunset reviews […]
The US economy has expanded at a modest pace since mid-May, the Federal Reserve said in its latest Beige Book report. But while the economy continues to grow, it has been exhibiting signs of a slowdown over the past month. And recession concerns are rising, the report said. The latest temperature check by the Fed on […]
Business activity in the state of New York saw a modest increase in July, following a sideways move the month prior, according to the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The New York Fed’s Empire State headline general business conditions index – a gauge of manufacturing activity in the state – rose 12.3 points in July to […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor on July 14 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) registered its third consecutive double-digit percentage decline in July, falling by 18.5% month over month (MoM) to 313.9, its lowest value since February 2021. Bearish sentiment in the metallics market, prevalent since May, has been […]
Steel plate supplier Leeco Steel has completed an expansion at its facility in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The expansion added 30,000 square feet to the existing 45,000 square feet of warehouse space, which was originally opened by Leeco in January 2020. “Leeco’s Canadian customer base is rapidly expanding, and we outgrew our existing warehouse space,” Leeco […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
We are now 38 days away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Registrations are now approaching 900 attendees and we still expect another 200+ executives to register over the next five weeks. If you have not yet registered, you can do so by clicking here. The following companies registered for the […]
We are now 38 days away from the start of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Registrations are now approaching 900 attendees and we still expect another 200+ executives to register over the next five weeks. The following companies registered for the conference over the past few days (those with an * mean more than […]
Members of the USW Local 8782-03, responsible for Canadian steelmaker Stelco’s pickling operations at its Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ont., have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike authorization, according to a USW update. The strike mandate vote revealed 98.6% of Local 8782-03 in support of their negotiating committee, which is currently in collective […]
Total mill shipments of steel products grew in May, after shrinking the month prior. May’s mill shipments totaled 8.38 million tons, a 3.1% increase from April’s 8.12 million tons. Apparent supply also recovered in May, up 3.9% versus the prior month. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute […]
Contract negotiations between Stelco and the United Steelworkers union are progressing slowly, and as a result, a third group of Stelco steelworkers has filed for conciliation and scheduled a strike mandate vote, a union official said. Members of the USW Local 8782-03, responsible for Stelco’s pickling operations, have now joined the USW Local 8782 and […]
Data on US industrial production, capacity utilization, orders and inventories continued to improve through the first half of 2022, indicating a strengthening manufacturing sector. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. The Industrial Production (IP) Index The IP index is a gauge of output from […]
ArcelorMittal Mexico has started up a new hot skin pass mill at its new hot rolling mill in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán. The hot skin pass mill has come into operation seven months after the new $1 billion, 2.75-million-short-ton-per-year hot rolling mill produced its first coil. “We are very happy to reach today an important step […]
A second local United Steelworkers (USW) chapter at Algoma Steel has voted to authorize a strike. Local 2274 held a vote on the matter late last week, and 95.1% voted in favor of a strike mandate, according to an update to union members. Algoma, a Canadian sheet and plate mill, is represented by two unions: […]
By CRU Research Analyst James Mills, from CRU’s Multi-Commodity Monthly Report The upside risk to commodity prices created by the war in Ukraine diminished in June as markets assessed the impact of a slower global demand growth outlook, higher inflation expectations, and a continuation of Covid-19 lockdowns in China. Bearish Economic Forecasts Are Downside Risk […]
The US economy added 372,000 new jobs in June, while the unemployment rate held unchanged at 3.6%, and the labor force shrank by 353,000 people, according to the Labor Department. Hiring last month slowed only slightly, and the US job market remains resilient despite high inflation and waning economic growth. Job gains have slowed since […]
The US labor market added 372,000 jobs in June, an unexpected boost in hiring. It was ahead of most expectations and only slightly down from May’s revised 384,000 additional payrolls. The result kept the unemployment rate unchanged month on month (MoM) at the pandemic-era low of 3.6%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Payroll gains […]
The following article on the hot-rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled After a brisk bout of futures activity in HR to close out the first half of 2022, we are experiencing much […]