As we move into the month of January all eyes will be on the December steel import data which will determine if 2014 goes down in history as the largest or second largest year for total steel imports in U.S. history. Prior to 2014 the record for the year with the most foreign steel imports […]
Apparent steel supply for October 2014 was 10,954,832 net tons, the highest monthly figure we have seen since the beginning of the Great Recession. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic shipments and finished US imports and subtracting total US exports. October supply represents a 1,509,671 ton or 16.0 percent increase compared to the […]
It has now been five weeks (October 28th) since AK Steel became the first domestic steel mill to announce a price increase on flat rolled steel. The relatively modest $20 per ton move was, in many steel buyers’ opinions, meant to stem the decline in steel prices. At that point in time benchmark hot rolled […]
Apparent steel supply for September was 10,305,707 net tons, the third biggest month since the beginning of the Great Recession. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic shipments and finished US imports and subtracting total US exports. Note that our Premium member analysis breaks down apparent steel supply by flat and long products. September […]
In the AISI press release, which we have republished in this evening’s newsletter, they reported October finished imports as 31 percent of apparent steel supply. They also reported that year to date (YTD) finished steel imports (does not include semi-finished which are slabs, billets and blooms) are estimated to be 28 percent of apparent steel […]
Over the past few days, Steel Market Update has received a number of inquiries from steel buyers who were upset that they are being put into a position where they have to consider buying foreign steel rather than domestic due to the pricing disparity between the two products. A Midwest service center buyer reported that […]
Apparent steel supply for August was 10,252,449 net tons, down slightly from July which was the largest tonnage month since the beginning of the Great Recession. Apparent steel supply is calcualted by adding domestic shipments and finished US imports and subtracting total US exports. Note that our Premium member analysis breaks down apparent steel supply […]
Apparent steel supply for July was 10,588,648 net tons, the highest figure Steel Market Update has in its recorded history back to January 2010. Steel Market Update calculates apparent steel supply by adding domestic shipments and finished US imports and subtracting total US exports. July supply represents a 1,383,999 ton or 15.0 percent increase compared […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been looking at the growth of each flat rolled product during the first six months 2014 vs. the first six months 2013. What we found is how foreign steel has been usurping much of the apparent steel supply growth from the U.S. steel mills. Hot rolled shipments out of the […]
One of our Steel Summit Conference speakers, Chuck Bradford, produced an interesting report on Chinese pig iron and crude steel production, imports and exports. Mr. Bradford shared the information with Steel Market Update along with a few comments: “Please keep in mind that the data I show in this report is more exact than the […]
Because we are a media outlet we receive from the International Trade Administration notification of all kinds of dumping filings against any number of countries. Earlier this week there was a filing against Chinese tires, this morning it was something I couldn’t even pronounce and didn’t have a clue what it was. What we are […]
Apparent steel supply is defined as domestic mill shipments to domestic locations plus imports. Sources are the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Department of Commerce. The three month moving average of the total tonnage of sheet and strip supply in the period March through May was 4,603,548 tons, up by 11.5 percent from […]
Apparent steel supply for May was 10,321,747 net tons, the highest figure Steel Market Update has in its recorded history back to January 2010 (by no means a historical record). Steel Market Update calculates apparent steel supply by adding domestic shipments and finished US imports and subtracting total US exports. May supply represents a 1,262,877 […]
As you could probably sense from our last issue of Steel Market Update, we are concerned about the amount of foreign steel imports related to the strength of the overall economy. It is one thing to see imports surging when the economy is hot and steel usage is high like we saw in 2004, 2006 […]
Apparent steel supply for April was 9,925,287 net tons, the highest figure Steel Market Update has in its recorded history beginning in January 2010. April supply represents an 831,098 ton or 9.1 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This is primarily due to the massive spike in April imports, up 36.5 […]
As usual we will spend a few moments taking a look at the month of May in our rear view mirror to see what transpired. SMU Price Momentum Indicator was adjusted during the month from Higher to Neutral as we detected a change in the supply/demand dynamics with the return to full production at US […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released their latest imported steel license data for the month of May 2014. The early indication is for May steel imports to remain at, or above the projected April imports of 3.7 million tons. March final imports came in at 3.2 million which is also our 3 month moving average. […]
Apparent steel supply for March was 9,753,954 net tons, a 9.6 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This is due to an increase in domestic shipments and finished imports and a slight decrease in total US exports. The net trade balance between imports and exports was a surplus of 2,194,246 net […]
When Nucor announced their earnings on April 24th they held a conference call with analysts to discuss their business and to make statements about their company, the markets they serve and about the economy in general. John Ferriola, Nucor’s Chairman, CEO and President, provided an opening statement during which he made the following remarks regarding […]
April is now behind us and it proved to be one interesting month. In looking at the key data we follow on a monthly basis for our readers, SMU Price Momentum Indicator ended the month where it began pointing to higher prices over the near term. SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index ended the month at […]
Apparent steel supply for February was 9,002,702 net tons, an 8.5 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This is due to an increase in finished imports and domestic shipments but a decrease in total US exports. The net trade balance between imports and exports was a surplus of 2,381,742 net tons […]
Apparent steel supply for January was 9,386,260 net tons, a 1.1 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. Although steel imports were up and exports decreased over these periods, the decrease in domestic shipments negated any big changes in total apparent supply. The net trade balance between steel imports and exports was […]
Apparent steel supply for December was 8,662,212 net tons (NT), a 4.14 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This was due to a slight increase in domestic shipments and a decrease in exports. The net trade balance from the difference between imports and exports was a surplus of 1,635,411 net tons […]
Apparent steel supply for November was 8,592,683 net tons (NT), a 1.46 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This was due to a slight increase in domestic shipments and a minor decrease in exports. The net trade balance from the difference between imports and exports was a surplus of 1,653,365 net […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator ended the month of December where it began, indicating higher flat rolled steel prices over the next 30 days. The domestic steel mills did not disappoint as they raised base price levels to $35.00/cwt on hot rolled and $40.50/cwt on cold rolled and coated (plus extras, FOB mill) for the mills […]
Apparent steel supply for October was 9,445,160 net tons, a 12.63 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This was due to a large increase in domestic shipments and total imports, and a decrease in exports. The net trade balance from the difference between imports and exports was a surplus of imports […]
One of the questions we hear on a continuous basis is, how much foreign flat rolled steel import is really coming and what impact will it have on domestic steel prices (and when)? Steel Market Update conducted our most recent analysis of the flat rolled steel market over this past week. Based on the responses […]
Apparent steel supply for September was 9,043,000 net tons, a 10.38 percent increase compared to the same month one year ago. This is due to an 8 to 9 percent increase in domestic shipments and all imports, and was slightly offset by a decrease in exports, down 3.38 percent. The net trade balance from the […]
Apparent steel supply for August 2013 was up 1.62 percent compared to the same month one year ago. This is primarily due to higher total steel imports and higher semi-finished steel imports for this year. The net trade surplus from imports versus exports was 1,730,960 net tons in August of this year, up from 1,502,420 […]
Apparent steel supply for August 2013 was up slightly compared to the same month one year ago by 1.62 percent. This is primarily due to higher total imports and higher semi-finished imports for this year. The net trade from imports and exports was a surplus of 1,730,960 net tons in August of this year, up […]