The United Kingdom surprised the world by voting for an exit from the European Union on Thursday. Steel Market Update asked John Anton, Principal Economist-Steel at IHS Global Insight to provide us his insights into what this might mean for the global market. GDP growth in the EU27 is expected to lose 0.2 percent in […]
Here are some of the comments made to SMU over the past few days both in New York City and upon our return to our offices. Regarding scrap prices, one of our sources was telling us that the domestic steel mills are making a mistake by attempting to push ferrous scrap prices lower, especially when […]
On Wednesday this week the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its series of Producer Price Indexes (PPI) for more than 10,000 goods and materials. For an explanation of this program see the end of this piece. The latest release this week reported results through May. We run this analysis every three or four months […]
ArcelorMittal is set to expand its portfolio of automotive steels by launching two new products in 2017, Usibor®2000 and Ductibor®1000. According to a spokesperson at ArcelorMittal , Usibor® 2000, which has been under development for some time, is a new Aluminum-Silicon coated high strength steel that will be even stronger than its predecessor Usibor® 1500. […]
Steel Technologies LLC plans to invest $18 million in a new processing facility in Smyrna, Tennessee. The 83,000 square foot facility will create 50 new jobs and handle both steel and aluminum sheet. “This new greenfield operation expands our exposed and unexposed automotive slitting and blanking capabilities,” Steel Technologies Vice President of Operations Randall Patterson […]
The US Treasury Secretary told Chinese students at Tsinghua University that excess steel capacity is distorting the world market. The comments came ahead of talks in Beijing between the US and China on trade and security. “Excess capacity is not just a domestic issue in China,” said Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. “The question of excess […]
SMU Price Momentum continues to reflect the strength of steel mills as we expect prices to continue to rise over the next 30 days. Our Price Momentum Indicator has been pointing toward higher prices since early December 2015 (6 months and counting). Although our Steel Buyers Sentiment Index took a hit in May for both […]
The Department of Commerce announced on Wednesday affirmative final determinations in AD and CVD investigations of imports of corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from China, India, Italy, Korea; an affirmative final determination in the AD investigation of imports of CORE from Taiwan; and a negative final determination in the CVD investigation of imports of CORE from […]
The following article was written by Lisa Reisman, Managing Director and CEO Of Azul Partners, Inc., on May 24, 2016 and is reprinted with permission of MetalMiner: Jennifer Diggins is the director of Government Affairs at Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp., the largest steelmaker in the U.S. and North America’s largest recycler of any material (Nucor […]
Steel Market Update received a note from trade attorney Lewis E. Leibowitz regarding an “ex parte” memorandum from former Michigan Governor and current President of the Business Rountable, John Engler, about the AD investigation of imports of cold rolled steel from Japan. Mr. Engler was intervening on behalf of Steelcase and their subsidiary PolyVision which […]
Ryerson Holding Corporation reported net income of $13.5 million for the first quarter of 2016, compared to a loss of $2.5 million for the first quarter of 2015. Revenues were $702.6 million for the first quarter of 2016, down 19.1 percent from the year-ago period due to a 19.4 percent decline in the average selling […]
There have been many comments made in the press recently regarding the opinions of analysts and consultants as to how long the current flat rolled price environment will last.The Pittsburgh Post published an article by Len Boselovic entitled: “Heard off the Street: Analysts: steel price hike may not last.” This article, which quotes one of […]
Olympic Steel reported a narrower than expected net loss of $767,000 for first quarter 2016. Revenues were $258.3 million compared to $346 million in Q1 2015 due to lower prices and volume. First quarter shipments increased, however 16 percent from fourth quarter 2015 recapturing market share from last year’s declining marketplace. “We successfully navigated challenging […]
The United Steelworkers have retracted their petition to bring Section 201 action on imports of primary unwrought aluminum. The USW filed the petition on April 18 but is suspending it due to lack of industry support. The April 22 statement from the USW follows: “We have decided to suspend our petition seeking action to restore […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum posted net income of $92.2 million on sales of $2.16 billion for first quarter 2016. Tons sold were up 8.9 percent from Q4 2015 with average selling price down 15.6 percent from a year ago and down 2.4 percent from the previous quarter. Reliance sold 1,216,700 tons of carbon steel in […]
The United Steelworkers filed a petition this week under Section 201 of U.S. trade law to attempt stem imports of primary unwrought aluminum. We are reporting on this because a number of companies/organizations having begun calling for the use of Section 201 to help stem unwanted steel imports (see article in tonight’s newsletter written by […]
There have been a number of questions about whether steel prices have the staying power to continue to move higher from here. We thought we would bring in another opinion on the subject. MetalMiner published an article on the subject just yesterday and they have allowed us to reproduce the article in tonight’s newsletter. Lisa […]
The following is one of the monthly analyses Steel Market Update does on key commodities and raw materials which impact steel prices: iron ore, scrap, coking coal as well as zinc and aluminum. Prices of the various commodities have been rising over the past month which is a net positive for the steel industry. The […]
China has agreed to eliminate some export subsidies on products exported to the United States, said U.S. officials this week. The subsidized products gave advantages to small firms in seven industries, including textiles and seafood, and were in violation of World Trade Organization rules. It is estimated that government subsidies for the program totaled about […]
The ocean bound freight market had a bit of good news last week—the Baltic Dry Index rose to 517 on April 7 and closed the week out on April 9 at 539, nearly an 86 percent increase from mid-February’s historic low of 290. MID-SHIP Report says a celebration is not yet warranted since the BDI […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has acquired custom sheet metal fabricator Best Manufacturing as of April 1, 2016. The company will operate as wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance with current management remaining in place. Headquartered in Jones Arkansas, Best Manufacturing provides various precision fabrication services including laser cutting, shearing, CNC punching, CNC forming and rolling, as […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has acquired custom sheet metal fabricator Best Manufacturing as of April 1, 2016. The company will operate as wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance with current management remaining in place. Headquartered in Jones Arkansas, Best Manufacturing provides various precision fabrication services including laser cutting, shearing, CNC punching, CNC forming and rolling, as […]
March saw flat rolled steel prices rising throughout the month. SMU benchmark hot rolled average for the month was $427 per ton. This was slightly lower than Platts which revised their HRC number on the 30th which took their average up to $432 per ton. Both Platts and SMU monthly averages were higher than the […]
Steel mills are still scrounging for ferrous scrap with little luck. We are hearing from our scrap sources that prices could be up as much as $30 per ton and we have even heard some numbers higher than $30. The net result will be more pressure on steel and steel prices as the mills scramble […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out its series of producer price indexes, for thousands of goods and materials. For an explanation of this program see the end of this piece. The latest release last week reported results through February. We run this analysis every three or four months to give readers […]
U.S. manufacturers are taking a firm stance against market economy status for China. AISI announced formation of a coalition, Manufacturers for Trade Enforcement, to oppose China’s request for market economy designation at the end of 2016. The coalition says China does not meet the established criteria for a market economy. “Our industries can compete against […]
Base metals are set to increase in 2016 but will be below levels seen at the end of 2014, said Frank Hoffman, IHS senior economist during the IHS First Quarter 2016 Pricing and Purchasing webinar. Production cuts and inventory dynamics along with benign global growth will keep metals prices from rebounding higher. The zinc market […]
In Sunday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update we warned our readers that something was happening in China that could impact US steel prices. We have been working on this project ever since and this is what we have learned from multiple sources around the world: Iron ore and steel prices are surging in China. […]
Steel prices continued their three month hike higher as SMU benchmark hot rolled price index (average) for the month was $408 per ton. Even with some minor stumbles noted in hot rolled and cold rolled during the second half of the month, our Price Momentum Indicator is still pointing toward higher prices over the next […]
MID-SHIP Group sees evidence of a strong South American grain harvest helping to boost spot market freight levels for the dry cargo freight market. Oversupply of vessels remains a problem and vessel lay-up and scrapping is continuing. MID-SHIP anticipates continued market pressure due to oversupply and slowing demand growth. The Baltic Dry Index stood at […]