Raw steel production by domestic steelmakers dipped for the second week in a row, taking the industry’s average capacity utilization rate down to 78.8 percent–the lowest level since the week of Aug. 4, 2018. Production for the week ending Sept. 7 totaled 1,835,000 net tons, down 0.8 percent from the previous week and down 1.7 […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Part two of our three-part series: What’s next for U.S. iron ore production? After a remarkably profitable 2018, the U.S. steel industry has suffered a setback in 2019 as steel prices have dropped sharply on weaker than expected demand. Steel margins have turned negative and production cuts have been […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Part one of our three-part series: What’s next for U.S. iron ore production? The U.S. is blessed with a wealth of natural resources, including oil, gas, gold, copper, timber and coal. In addition, the country has large iron ore deposits that have supported its steel industry for more than […]
By CRU North America Analyst Ryan McKinley U.S. long product price declines were limited for most products in September after finding support from the scrap market, but downward pressure continues to mount. Even with scrap prices rising by $20 /l.ton in August, persistent price falls throughout the year have yet to spur buyers’ interest amid high […]
Steel Market Update received the following letter from a trading company executive and we thought it should be shared with our readers: I was just reading your article concerning Section 232 and came up with the following short conclusions: The damage of Section 232 to the integrated mills is done. The windfall profit reaped by […]
The effectiveness of the Trump administration’s Section 232 tariff gets mixed reviews. The 25 percent tariff has contributed to a 13 percent reduction in steel imports this year, easing the competitive pressures on domestic mills. But after an initial spike in steel prices last year, and record earnings by the mills, the price of finished […]
Raw steel production by domestic steelmakers dipped by 1.4 percent last week, taking the industry’s average capacity utilization rate down more than a percentage point to 79.5 percent–below the 80 percent mark the mills strive to maintain. Production for the week ending Aug. 31 totaled 1,850,000 net tons, also down 0.6 percent compared with the […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison The last month has been interesting from a forecast standpoint given the reversal in the Fed’s monetary policy stance at the end of July, new developments in the U.S.-China trade war and a shift in currency policy in China. Through all this policy change, we continue to see a […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices have bounced back in the past week with a rally on Monday pushing prices back above $90 /t. Renewed market confidence resulted in futures on the Dalian commodity exchange hitting limit up in Monday trading. Steel prices in China have been stable throughout the week, which […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Paul Wiggers de Vries Lessons learned from the mining boom saw zinc miners cut back site costs over 2015, 2016 and 2017 in the face of lower zinc prices. However, in 2018, cost controls were relaxed and cost inflation returned. In 2019, cost inflation will remain, but miners will reduce site […]
Alro Steel Corp. is reportedly investing $12 million in improvements to the former Central Steel & Wire Co. facility on Milwaukee’s south side, which it purchased for $7.1 million earlier this year. The Jackson, Mich.-based distributor plans to relocate its Wauwatosa distribution center there by late 2020. Alro is in the process of constructing a […]
For the 1,078 individuals who attended our conference on Monday through Wednesday of this week—first, we thank you for your business, your support, your kind words and for carrying the message back to your respective companies. We had a great conference. There can always be improvements. We constantly strive for perfection, so look for an […]
Steel demand will continue to weaken into 2020, but will bottom next year and set the stage for an inventory rebuild and rising consumption beginning in the second half, predicted CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores in his remarks Monday during Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit in Atlanta. U.S. industrial production is currently growing at just […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh China has been at the center of coal price upcycles that have taken place this millennium. The commodity supercycle that characterized the early-2000s was fueled by demand growth, especially in emerging markets like China. That bull market reached a peak in 2011 when slowing demand growth was met with […]
U.S. Steel raised industry eyebrows earlier this month when it informed its U.S. sales force that it would no longer use index-based pricing effective with its 2020 contracts. Would other mills climb on the bandwagon? And if so, what might that mean for steel prices? Based on comments from chief executives of other industry-leading mills, […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh Coking coal prices have remained steady for another week on the back of mixed signals on the demand side and abundant supply from Australia. On Aug. 27, CRU assessed the Premium HCC, $0.5 /t lower w/w at $154.5 /t, FOB Australia. There were more deals concluded by Chinese buyers […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore continued to fall in the past week as weakness in the Chinese steel market continued with steel prices declining further. Iron ore spot offers also rose over the last week. On Tuesday, Aug. 27, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $84.00 /t, a $4.30 […]
Steel mill capacity utilization climbed back over the 80 percent mark last week, increasing by 1.1 percent to register 80.6 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Production was up by 0.9 percent compared with the same period last year. Raw steel production for the week ending Aug. 24 totaled 1,877,000 net tons. Domestic […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index moved lower over the past two weeks as buyers appear concerned about the economy and steel demand. Steel prices remain a source of anxiety as the mills have been only partially successful at collecting their recent price increases. The goal of SMU’s Buyers Sentiment Index is to measure […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: On Friday, China announced new tariffs in response to the Trump administration’s new tariffs on $300 billion of imports from China. Effective Sept. 1, China will impose 5 percent or 10 percent tariffs on more than 5,000 tariff […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: I received several questions about the cases initiated earlier this year covering the ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of fabricated structural steel (FSS) from Canada, Mexico and China. I thought it might be time to try to […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison and Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg In the past month, we have seen sharp declines in global commodity prices, including steelmaking raw materials. The fall was triggered by an escalation of the U.S.-China trade war, but CRU’s research shows that supply and demand fundamentals in the markets also contributed to […]
If the price increases announced by the mills over the past two months were gaining real traction, it should be showing up in lengthening mill lead times. According to Steel Market Update data, the impact on lead times has been mixed and minimal. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the […]
There has been little change in the tone of price talks over the past two weeks. The majority of buyers continue to report that mills generally are willing to negotiate to secure spot orders, even as they work to collect recent price increases on flat rolled and plate products. Since late June, the mills have […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and CRU North America Analyst Ryan McKinley North America, primarily the U.S., was an outlier to global price trends for scrap and sheet products this month. Multiple mill price increases for sheet have been primarily successful, although current prices remain well below the most recent mill targets of $630 […]
Steel mill capacity utilization dipped below the 80 percent mark last week for the first time since early July, registering 79.8 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Production was down by 0.2 percent compared with the same period last year–the first time this year that weekly production was below 2018 levels. Raw steel […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices continued to decline in the past week as margins in the Chinese steel industry continued to decline on weak steel demand and high production levels. On Tuesday, Aug. 20, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $88.30 /t, a $2.00 /t decline w/w. The […]
Canada’s Russel Metals has expanded its presence in the oilfield with the $160 million acquisition of City Pipe & Supply Corp. City Pipe & Supply supplies pipe, valves and fittings to oil and gas companies in the Permian, Eagle Ford, Granite Wash, Barnett and Haynesville basins, which collectively represent approximately 60 percent of the active […]
By CRU Analyst Iris Speelmanns Last week, Turkish scrap prices slid further, dropping by $9 /t w/w to $281 /t CFR for HMS 80:20, based on one 40 kt deal from Europe. This new price level is the lowest level since the brief drop in mid-June and before that the distinct, though brief, weakness last winter. Weaker global […]
The labor productivity of nonfarm businesses grew by 2.3 percent in the second quarter of 2019. The average of the last six quarters has been 0.40 percent. Unit labor costs increased 2.5 percent year over year, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Unit labor costs and productivity […]