Companies that import steel products can apply for relief from President Trump’s tariff immediately, even before the Commerce Department issues formal procedures, recommends Washington trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz. “I see no reason to wait for detailed procedures to come out from Commerce. A letter to the Secretary should suffice to get started,” he said. The […]
President Trump’s 25 percent tariff on steel from countries around the world comes at what cost? The trade action by the Trump administration is unpopular among the majority of the executives who responded to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire last week just before the president announced the tariffs, as expected. Nearly seven out of […]
President Trump’s 25 percent tariff on steel from countries around the world comes at what cost? The trade action by the Trump administration is unpopular among the majority of the executives who responded to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire last week just before the president announced the tariffs, as expected. Nearly seven out of […]
U.S. raw steel production for the week ending March 10 totaled 1,813,000 net tons, a 5.7 percent increase from the same period last year. While down 1.1 percent from the prior week, this is the second week this year that production has topped 1.8 milllion tons. Prior to this month, the last time weekly production […]
Even though the Commerce Department has until next week to issue procedures for handling exclusion requests, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced via Twitter that his nation will be exempt from the tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed by the Trump administration March 8. The United States’ closest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, were […]
Legal experts say President Trump’s efforts to use the Section 232 steel tariffs as a bargaining chip with NAFTA and other trade negotiations could make the U.S. position more difficult to defend before the World Trade Organization and the courts. An importer hit with the tariff could claim the president had exceeded his authority under […]
Is steel demand showing signs of weakening? The year got off to a strong start, but changes in the last three Steel Market Update queries hint at a subtle change in steel buyers’ attitudes. A bit over half of the respondents to the last three SMU market trends questionnaires reported demand staying about the same […]
Eight out of 10 respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire last week (just prior to President Trump’s announcement confirming the 25 percent tariff on steel imports) believe tariffs on foreign steel will weaken the steel and manufacturing base in the United States. Following are some reader comments, nearly all opposed to the Trump […]
President Trump made headlines this week when he slapped a 25 percent tariff on steel imports from all nations except Canada and Mexico. His rationale is that the U.S. should treat other countries the way they treat us. Steel Market Update has heard many incorrect statements about how the rest of the industrialized world treats […]
Stronger domestic demand for steel products, combined with feedstock and transportation problems, sent ferrous scrap prices on divergent paths in various parts of the country this month, reports scrap guru Mike Marley of World Steel Exchange Marketing. Tight supplies of key obsolete grades produced pricing moves ranging from unchanged for industrial steel grades in several […]
President Trump made headlines this week when he slapped a 25 percent tariff on steel imports from all nations except Canada and Mexico. His rationale is that the U.S. should treat other countries the way they treat us. Steel Market Update has heard many incorrect statements about how the rest of the industrialized world treats […]
Flanked by members of his administration and a group of steel and aluminum workers, President Trump signed measures today calling for a 25 percent tariff on imports of steel and a 10 percent tariff on imports of aluminum. But his comments leave the market far short of the clarity and certainty most had hoped for. […]
President Trump’s controversial decision to impose a steep tariff on steel imports has clearly unsettled the market and taken a toll on the attitude of many steel buyers. Both current and future sentiment among flat rolled steel buyers declined significantly in the last two weeks, according to the latest Steel Market Update Steel Buyers Sentiment […]
Mill lead times on flat rolled steel orders continue to extend as supplies tighten and buyers scramble to replenish inventories ahead of the next price increase. One of the key indicators tracked by Steel Market Update, lead times reflect the activity at the mills and the order levels they are seeing from their customers. About […]
With foreign steel offers largely on hold as the market awaits President Trump’s final decision on steel tariffs, domestic steel mills are in a strong bargaining position and are taking full advantage of it. Nine out of 10 steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week say the mills are unwilling […]
Ferrous scrap prices have risen at a greater rate than expected by sources quoted in Steel Market Update last month. Scrap guru Mike Marley of World Steel Exchange Marketing reports that recent price increases have varied by region to region, and even within a few regions. In the North, shredded and cut grades are up […]
Not long ago, supercomputers were few in number and basically only accessible to the likes of university research labs and government agencies. Today, ready access to supercomputing technology is poised to change the business world, says Stephen Pratt, co-founder of Noodle.ai, a San Francisco-based enterprise artificial intelligence company. Pratt has a long and impressive resume […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) is calling for President Trump to exclude semi-finished steel from the 25 percent tariff he is expected to impose on steel imports under Section 232. CSI is a “slab converter” mill, relying almost entirely on imported slab as feedstock to produce coil steel sheet and electrical resistance welded (ERW) pipe. Because steel […]
With steel imports mostly on hold awaiting the final word on Trump’s tariffs, supplies of prime steel are tightening, putting distributors of secondary material in the catbird seat, at least for a while. But the supply of secondary is tightening, as well, say service center executives, who aren’t sure how long the window of opportunity […]
Nucor Chairman, President and CEO John Ferriola remains an unabashed supporter of strong trade action by the Trump administration to level the playing field for domestic steelmakers against unfairly traded imports. “I’m encouraged that the president will take action that is both decisive and meaningful and will help restore the steel industry to its former […]
U.S. raw steel production for the week ending March 3 totaled 1,834,000 net tons at a mill capability utilization rate of 78.7 percent, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. The last time production was this high was the week ending Jan. 10, 2015, when 1,899,000 tons were produced at a utilization rate […]
The threats of Section 232 tariffs and the possible withdrawal of the United States from NAFTA have not swayed ArcelorMittal from its commitment to invest $1 billion in its Mexican operations. In a statement reported on Friday, a spokesman for the integrated steelmaker said the company has no intention of changing its plans for Mexico, […]
Steel Market Update received the following letter from a manufacturing company located in New England. This company is one of hundreds across the country who are concerned that President Trump’s tariff will increase their costs to manufacture products in the United States and they will then lose business to those who are providing the same […]
Most service centers are raising spot prices to their end customers following President Trump’s announcement that he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports this week. But some are taking a more wait-and-see approach to spot business. Following are some insightful comments from the marketplace: • “Absolutely we’re raising prices!” • “Inventory […]
Union Partners has acquired Lamination Specialties Corp., a manufacturer of electrical steel laminations with three Chicago-area locations. The company also operates a full-service electrical steel service center. It anticipates no disruption of services as it transitions to new ownership. Lamination Specialties is the latest to join the Union Partners family, which includes Mapes & Sprowl, […]
ArcelorMittal (AM) and Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSMMC) have teamed up to acquire and operate financially troubled Essar Steel India Ltd. (ESIL). The joint venture is still subject to regulatory approval. ESIL operates one of India’s largest integrated mills with annual capacity of 10 million tons. It manufactures hot rolled, cold rolled and […]
Imagine a steel industry where terabytes are more important than tons, where information rather than inventory is the most prized asset. Steel seems about as far removed from the realm of Silicon Valley as an industry could be, yet Gisbert Rühl, CEO of German metals company Klöckner, is convinced that steel companies must embrace digital […]
Union Partners has acquired Lamination Specialties Corp., a manufacturer of electrical steel laminations with three Chicago-area locations. The company also operates a full-service electrical steel service center. It anticipates no disruption of services as it transitions to new ownership. Lamination Specialties is the latest to join the Union Partners family, which includes Mapes & Sprowl, […]
President Trump says he will sign a measure next week calling for a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports under Section 232 because they pose a threat to the domestic industries and thus national security. Trump had looked set to make the trade action official today, even […]
President Trump’s announcement today of his intention to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports puts the steel industry on course for historic change. Historically good or historically bad, or perhaps some of both, depends on the individual’s perspective. Following are some of the reactions Steel Market Update received from readers, whose names were […]