“There’s been further erosion with EAF’s dropping spot to $570-$580, not necessarily tied to volume,” is what one large service center told us this afternoon. “[I am] afraid this market at risk of bigger drops than was anticipated.” Flat rolled price averages were lower across all products followed by Steel Market Update with the exception […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce advised Steel Market Update, as a member of the media, who would be speaking at tomorrow’s (Wednesday, May 24, 2017) Section 232 hearing on steel. The hearing is part of the Commerce Department’s investigation about the need for steel for national security. Here is what we received from the US […]
The following article was provided and first published by ArcelorMittal USA news: After experimenting with aluminum in its luxury models, Audi’s next A8 will switch back to steel. Scheduled for release in 2018, the body structure of the new A8 will be made up of more than 40 percent steel, following the trend of automakers […]
ArcelorMittal NAFTA turned in solid results for first quarter 2017. The segment, composed of Indiana Harbor, AM/NS Calvert and ArcelorMittal Dofasco, had sales of $4.46 billion, up from $3.7 billion in Q4 2016 and $3.82 billion in Q1 2016. Operating income increased to $396 million from $164 million the previous quarter and $339 million the […]
AIST – NASHVILLE, 9 May 2017 — Roger K. Newport, chief executive officer and board member, AK Steel, was named Steelmaker of the Year at AISTech 2017 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, managed by The Association for Iron & Steel Technology (AIST). The Steelmaker of the Year Award is presented annually […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission made a final determination that the U.S. steel industry has been materially injured by imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Antidumping (AD) orders will be issued on imports of these products from the eight countries as well as […]
It is the first week of May and the negotiations between the long and flat rolled steel mills have been in full swing all week. By late today (Thursday) word of how the scrap dealers had fared has been coming into our offices. The first region to settle was Detroit which was up $10 on […]
The domestic steel mills did not cancel scrap orders for April delivery that had not yet arrived. This is a sign that the steel mills believe prices will be sideways to slightly higher for May delivery than what they negotiated for April. All is quiet as the steel mills and their scrap suppliers jockey for […]
I have received a number of comments on the LinkedIn posts that I have put out there over the weekend. I shared our “Black Swan” article on my personal LinkedIn account as well as our Steel Market Update LinkedIn group account. I also received a question about the “average margin for a service center” that […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released import license data for April as well as Preliminary Census Data for the month of March. The Preliminary Census Data will be finalized in about a week’s time and usually there are only minimal revisions. March foreign steel imports are being reported as being 3.4 million net tons. This […]
Since Thursday, when President Donald Trump signed his executive order calling for an analysis of the steel industry from a “national security” perspective, I have been swamped with emails and phone calls questioning what is going on and what do I think about the chances of something happening that will impact the amount of foreign […]
Over the course of the last four days Steel Market Update (SMU) has been conducting our mid-April flat rolled steel market trends analysis. We finished earlier this afternoon and we are providing the results of some of our findings to our readers this evening. Lead times, which is the length of time it takes to […]
The following is just part of an article on China written by Gordon Orr, Director Emeritus at McKinsey & Company. The original article was published recently by the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS). You can link to the article here. “What if Steel Prices Decline? “Last year began with much fanfare over promised government-enforced […]
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced today that a final finding has been made on the dumping of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length (CTL) plate into the U.S. from eight countries. Commerce affirmed that dumping had occurred regarding imports of CTL from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and imposed duties ranging […]
We are getting mixed messages regarding “real” lead times coming out of the domestic steel mills. The information we are sharing below comes from actual mill lead times coming directly from the producing mills to their customers. This is different than the lead time averages collected by Steel Market Update and shared with our readers […]
The article title is “Dan DiMicco’s Nucor Has Killed Off More Of The American Steel Industry Than China Ever Has” and was written by Tim Worstall, a Fellow at the Adam Smith Institute in London, England. The article, which can be seen in its entirety online, points out, “That American steel industry which has suffered […]
“Fair and Free Trade” is something that those of us who have been in the steel industry since 2000 have heard over and over again from the domestic steel industry. What exactly is “fair” trade and who should decide? The steel mills have done an exceptional job of determining the talking points through lobbying efforts […]
The shipping season opened on the Great Lakes this month. In general, freight shipments within the U.S. are moving without complications in March. Rate increases have been noted for most seaborne freight with the Baltic Dry Index approaching highs last seen in November 2016. Seaborne Freight The Panama Canal continues to break monthly records for […]
Steel mill lead times are one of the key indicators of future direction of steel prices. Steel buyers must be aware of the amount of time it takes a supplier to produce and ship a new order. Lead times and balancing inventories go hand in hand. When lead times shrink, buyers can pull back on […]
We are five and a half months (5.5) or 166 days away from the opening of our 7th SMU Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. We went over 100 registrations today and we expect 500+ registrations when we get into the month of August. There are four companies that we know of that will be […]
On Wednesday, Nucor Sheet Group announced a $30 per ton ($1.50/cwt) price increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steels. The base price increase was to take effect immediately and was the second $30 per ton increase announced since the beginning of the New Year. Since October 21, 2016 Nucor has made six price […]
Scrap prices moved higher as scrap dealers and the domestic steel mills finished their March negotiations. With prime grades of scrap settling at about twice the $30 per gross ton originally thought a couple weeks ago, the sheet mills have got a decision to make. Do they take prices up or have they raised prices […]
On Friday of last week Nucor Plate Mill Group announced a $30 per ton price increase on carbon and alloy plate and $50 per ton on heat-treated plate. The increase was to be effective immediately. Today, ArcelorMittal USA also followed the Nucor lead with an increase of their own. A Nucor plate customer told SMU […]
An antitrust lawsuit filed by indirect steel purchasers against ArcelorMittal USA, US Steel and other steel mills was dismissed in the US District Court of Northern Illinois last week. In 2008, Supreme Auto Transport LLC, based in Michigan, filed a complaint alleging that ArcelorMittal and others were among a group of steel producers who schemed […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission issued two new final determinations on Wednesday related to imports of steel products from China. The ITC determined that the U.S. industry is materially injured by the imports of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate from China. Countervailing subsidy rates of 251.00% and antidumping margins of 68.2 percent will be […]
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. On Monday Nucor began the flat rolled steel price increase announcement train as they, and just about every other flat rolled mill in the United States, came out with a $30 per ton increase. Steel buyers, however, were confused as to where spot base prices were […]
We had three price announcements and at least one verbal announcement on flat rolled steel since the week began. Everyone is wondering if the other steel mills will follow and what will the base prices be when the dust settles? Based on what we have been hearing from steel buyers today, the suggested minimum base […]
ArcelorMittal NAFTA segment results declined in fourth quarter 2016. Steel shipments decreased by 6.6 percent to 5 million tonnes from third quarter driven by an 8.5 percent decrease in flat volumes due to destocking in the United States. NAFTA sales were down 11.1 percent from the prior quarter to $3.8 billion due to lower average […]
ArcelorMittal said it expects global apparent steel consumption to grow between 0.5 and 1.5 percent in 2017, compared to 1.0 percent growth last year. Underlying demand is expected to pick up in Europe supported by the automotive market, but apparent demand growth in the region is forecast at a modest 0.5-1.5 percent compared to 2 […]
“Sanity is back in the seabourne iron ore market,” said Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves in comments during the Cliffs earnings call on Thursday. After the departure of three key executives in the Australian ore market, iron ore prices doubled and Rio Tinto, Vale and BHP are exhibiting disciplined behavior which will support strong […]