Global economic expansion may have reached its peak as trade tensions pressure markets, says a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD is projecting global GDP growth will settle at 3.7 percent in 2018 in its Interim Economic Outlook. “Amidst rising trade tensions and heightened trade policy uncertainty, global trade growth […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: A rather eventful few days on the tariff and legal fronts: Final list of $200 billion in trade value of imports from China: The USTR announced the final list (“list 3”) of $200 billion in […]
Construction costs are escalating due to labor costs and tariffs on critical materials. Although declining 0.8 percent from July to August, prices for construction goods such as diesel fuel, steel, aluminum, asphalt and gypsum products have risen 6.2 percent since the beginning of the year, said the Associated General Contractors of America in a recent […]
This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Carbon steel tubular products have a rate of price escalation much higher than plastic products. This is also […]
AK Steel co-hosted Steel Market Update’s first Steel 201: Introduction to Advanced High Strength & Other New Steels workshop this week at the $36 million AK Research and Innovation Center opened last year in Middletown, Ohio. The beautiful 135,000-square-foot facility made AK Steel’s commitment to R&D readily apparent to the 40+ students and staff assembled […]
The Commerce Department published new regulations taking effect on Tuesday that make significant changes in product exclusion requests for the steel and aluminum tariffs. According to reports, the notice will be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, Sept. 11. The revised rules allow for comments rebutting industry objections (with 7 days after the 30-day […]
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products from Canada and Mexico are back in the spotlight now that NAFTA talks are, hopefully, nearing an end. Steel associations from Canada and Mexico are calling for the tariffs to be terminated while the negotiations are under way. Mexican association Canacero has stated that a NAFTA deal […]
What is in the nation’s best interest when it comes to international trade? Are the Trump administration trade policies the best approach? Speaking at the Steel Market Update Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta on Aug. 27, a spokesperson for the domestic steel industry and a Washington trade attorney offered sharply contrasting views. The Steel Manufacturers […]
Global manufacturing was subdued in August said J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was at a 21 month low of 52.5 in August, down 0.3 points from July. “August PMI data signaled a slight firming in global manufacturing output growth to a solid pace at near three percent annualized,” said […]
Austrian steelmaker Voestalpine will move part of U.S. automotive parts production to Mexico to avoid steel import tariffs. Voestalpine has 48 U.S. sites that primarily use domestic steel but about one third of company revenue relies on plate and specialty imported steels that are not produced in the United States. U.S. production accounts for one […]
Automotive sales remained healthy in August with most automotive manufacturers reporting at least moderate sales growth year-over-year. FCA US led sales with an increase of 10 percent for August. Ford sales were up 4.1 percent and Hyundai 6.0 percent. Toyota sales dropped 2 percent. Sales for German automaker Volkswagen inched up 0.7 percent while Mercedes-Benz […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I am just back from Atlanta, where I attended the SMU Steel Summit. I was pleased to be able to speak to many steel industry folks concerned about the steel tariffs, the China tariffs and […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: I am just back from Atlanta, where I attended the SMU Steel Summit. I was pleased to be able to speak to many steel industry folks concerned about the steel tariffs, the China tariffs and […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: After months of complaints, hearings, letters, denials, approvals and delay, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security published new rules on processes, criteria and time limits for specific product exclusions under the President’s Proclamations […]
Table 1 summarizes the August prices of the five materials considered in this report and the month/month, three months/three months and year/year change. In the last month, coking coal FOB Australia’s East Coast eked out a small gain as the other four experienced price declines. At the Jackson Hole meeting of the Fed on Friday, […]
Recent price changes have been mixed for steelmaking commodities. In the last three months, coking coal and iron ore have trended up as pig iron, scrap and zinc have trended down. Table 1 summarizes the September prices of the five materials considered in this report and the month/month, three months/three months and year/year change. Iron […]
The steel market is watching and waiting to see if President Trump will hit other countries with higher tariffs as he did with Turkey. If he does, the majority of observers will not be surprised. Indeed, more than 60 percent of the steel executives responding to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire expect further […]
Mexican steel association Canacero said it has been called to Washington to discuss replacing the 25 percent tariff on steel imports to the U.S. with quotas. A spokesperson for Canacero President Maximo Vedoya verified the request by Washington in a statement to Reuters. “Talks are taking place now and the most important thing for the […]
The United States and Mexico have agreed on changes to the rule of origin for NAFTA automobiles during bilateral discussions. The percentage of North American content for NAFTA autos will be increased from 62.5 percent to 75 percent. In addition, 70 percent of steel, aluminum and glass used in production of autos must be sourced […]
Metalforming companies are struggling with higher steel prices and longer lead times as a result of Section 232 tariffs, but are still expecting business conditions to improve during the next three months. The Precision Metalforming Association’s August Business Conditions Report showed 29 percent of participants expect an increase in economic activity, 62 percent expect no […]
A new report by the American Trucking Association highlights America’s dependence on the trucking industry, revealing that 70.2 percent of all domestic freight tonnage is moved by trucks. “Information, when presented properly and accurately, tells a story,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “The information in these pages highlights exactly what I tell elected officials, […]
CRU zinc analyst Helen O’Cleary reported late last week on what was causing the short-term movement of zinc pricing: “Zinc’s price has been pressured lower again in recent days on a combination of risk-averse investor sentiment, U.S. dollar strength and a sizeable delivery of warrants into the LME’s New Orleans warehouses. It breached support at […]
Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this new role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategy for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a Trader at Cargill spending time in Metal […]
The U.S. trade situation is causing some consternation, according to analysts at CRU. During a webinar on Tuesday, which was made available to SMU member companies, analysts discussed the trade measures that have been instituted by the Trump administration and the potential impact on the U.S. and global economies. Steel and aluminum tariffs were imposed […]
Steel Market Update expects to welcome nearly 900 executives to our Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta Aug. 27-29. There is still time to sign up if you would like to be one of them. To register, visit: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com/Events/Steel-Summit or by contacting our office at 772-932-7538. See the full conference program below: Making Sense Out of […]
Effective Monday, August 13, the Trump administration doubled the tariffs on steel imports from Turkey to 50 percent, stunning the market and setting off a wave of speculation on how this trade action may impact the steel and scrap markets in North America. A tweet from President Trump early Friday set the change in motion: […]
ArcelorMittal USA probably surprised some customers with their announcement of a $30 per ton price increase on cold rolled and coated products. My opinion is ArcelorMittal is trying to increase the spread between the hot rolled base price and that of cold rolled and coated products. I also think they are trying to boost base […]
In a surprising tweet on Friday, President Trump announced his intentions to double the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum from Turkey, raising the tax on imports to 50 percent for steel and 20 percent for aluminum. No word on when the change would take effect. “I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs […]
Flat rolled and plate steel distributors, as well as the manufacturers who purchase spot material from the distributors and wholesalers, are reporting a softening of spot pricing. That is the spot pricing service centers are offering their manufacturing customers. Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our early August flat rolled and plate steel market analysis. […]
What would ultimately be best for the environment: strict fuel efficiency standards that will dramatically reduce the tailpipe emissions from new vehicles or more achievable standards that will add less cost to each vehicle and allow more drivers to upgrade and get older gas guzzlers off the road? Over the strong objections of environmental groups […]