Total domestic aluminum mill products orders in March were up 0.2% compared to March 2023, according to the latest “Index of Net New Orders of Aluminum Mill Products” released by the US Aluminum Association (AA). This is much lower than the growth of 9.3% year over year (y/y) reported in February.
To ease trade tensions with the United States, the economy ministry in Mexico is preparing measures to strengthen definitions on steel being shipped into the country. Mexico has faced accusations it is being used as a route for steel and aluminum produced in Asia to be sent on to the US, so-called triangulation.
Steel prices continued to ease lower in early March – a trend seen since mid-January – before showing signs of bottoming and inflecting up. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products shifted from lower to neutral mid-way through the month after Nucor, Cleveland-Cliffs, and ArcelorMittal all targeted new base minimums between $825-840 per short […]
Next week, Las Vegas will host the largest recycled materials industry event. ISRI’s annual gathering at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino will unite more than 6,000 industry professionals to explore the latest trends in ferrous and nonferrous markets, provide networking opportunities, and support business growth. SMU and RMU eagerly anticipate participating, connecting with fellow attendees, and […]
Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data was released on Friday, March 29, despite the stock market being closed for Good Friday. The year-over-year (y/y) PCE price index rose 2.5% in February, in line with market expectations but up from the 2.4% growth seen in January. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 2.8% y/y in February, also in line with expectations and slightly down from 2.9% in January.
RHI Magnesita has announced its intention to acquire Pittsburgh-based refractory producer Resco Group for an enterprise value of up to $430 million.
The Biden administration this week announced landmark industrial funding to support potentially transformational industrial decarbonization projects. In total, thirty-three projects across eight industrial sectors will receive up to $6 billion in federal funds from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED).
The Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Monday six projects that will receive up to $1.5 billion in funding to further decarbonize the iron and steel industry.
The LME 3-month aluminum price resumed moving lower on the morning of March 22 and was last seen trading at $2,290 per metric ton. The price was unable to break through an important resistance level at $2,300/mt on March 21. EGA to acquire European recycler Emirates Global Aluminium of the UAE has signed a binding […]
According to the latest “Index of Net New Orders of Aluminum Mill Products” released by the US Aluminum Association (AA), total orders in February 2024 were up 9.3% compared to February 2023. This is a noticeable improvement from the growth of 2.1% year over year (y/y) seen in January.
Prices of most steelmaking raw materials have moved lower over the last 30 days, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis.
Reaction to the price announcements last week by domestic mills varied just a little depending on who you were speaking to. I heard rumblings before the announcements that a price hike of $100 per short ton (st) was coming. After the announcements were made, I had some questions as to whether they were increases at all.
The LME three-month price continued to strengthen through Friday, March 8, defending its position close to its five-week high and rising further to $2,262 per metric ton (mt), up 0.3%, on the day. Gains were also noted over the last week in other industrial metals, including copper, zinc, and lead. The price gains appeared to be due to weakness in the US dollar, which fell sharply against a basket of currencies after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that rate cuts were still expected this year.
AZZ – Precoat Metals has announced the promotion of Jeff Vellines to president of the company.
Steel prices continued to ease lower throughout February, following a loss of upwards momentum in the middle of January.
IAI reports aluminum industry greenhouse gas emissions declined in 2022.
What are some “Black Swans” to watch out for? With the war in Ukraine entering its third year, your mind might understandably move to conflicts overseas. Here is one closer to home to consider: US trade relations with Mexico taking a turn for the worse. I mention that because the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) dropped a (virtual) bombshell earlier this month.
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai has voiced the United States’ unease at a marked increase in steel and aluminum imports from Mexico, and what she termed a lack of transparency about Mexican imports of the metals from third countries.
Nippon Steel Corp.’s (NSC) operations in China are a potential security concern of the Biden administration, according to a Bloomberg report citing anonymous sources close to the matter.
Ryerson swung to a net profit in the fourth quarter, though revenue declined from the same period last year.
The LME 3-month price was broadly stable again on the morning of Feb. 16, and was last seen trading at $2,230 per metric ton (mt). On Feb. 16, LME stocks were reported at 534,925 mt, an increase of nearly 10,000 mt from last Friday. The change comes after 15,125 mt of metal was delivered into […]
Reliance Inc. – formerly Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. – introduced its “new company identity” that emphasized its “evolution to more than steel,” the company said in its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report.
Reliance has entered into an agreement to purchase Houston-based American Alloy Steel Inc. for an undisclosed sum.
What’s something going on in the market that no one is talking about? That’s a question on our survey, and was also posed to many who graced the stage at our Tampa Steel Conference. Perhaps another way to phrase that is “not talking about publicly” or connecting the dots of steel market chatter to find a uniting central issue. I thought one respondent to our survey really summed up the current moment: “Right now it is all politics.”
Steel prices stabilized in early January before they began to inflect lower midway through last month. Tags peaked at $1,045 per short ton (st) during the first week of January, even as some mills tried to push prices higher, to no avail. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended January at an average of $1,000/st, declining by $45/st during the month.
The US Midwest premium continued to trade between 18.8–19.4 cents per pound (¢/lb) this week. There remains a host of macroeconomic and geopolitical risks in the current environment, but none have affected the short-term outlook for the premium. Current trading for April reached 20 ¢/lb which is on par with CRU’s current forecast for Q2’24. Dates closer to the end of the year have fallen to 21.2 ¢/lb.
Former President Donald Trump discussed, if re-elected, placing a 60%-or-more tariff on all Chinese imports in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
I participated in the 35th annual Tampa Steel Conference last week, a conclave of steel producers, consumers, traders, logisticians, and (a few) trade lawyers. I participated in a panel discussion concerning challenges in managing supply chains in these troubled times. Things appear to be heading in the wrong direction in this field. Supply chains were shown to be vulnerable to pandemics in 2020 and 2021, and, in 2022 and 2023, to regional conflicts and weather slowing or stopping the free movement of goods through trade bottlenecks (the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Bosporus, etc.)
The US Midwest premium was flat week over week (w/w) at 18.8–19.4¢/lb. Again, the premium has exhibited remarkably low levels of volatility and has yet to react to news in the geopolitical or macroeconomic spaces.
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. announced on Feb. 2 that it has acquired Tifton, Ga.-based Cooksey Iron & Metal Co.