Total rolled steel product imports in April were the highest since last June and semi-finished imports were the highest since October 2014 as offshore mills hurried to ship steel ahead of the tariffs that were expected to take effect May 1. Total rolled steel product imports in April were up by 17.0 percent from March’s […]
Lewis Leibowitz, a Washington trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, reports on announcements this past week on Trump administration tariff exemptions/quotas: • Argentina reached a quota agreement on steel, which means that imports from that country (mostly seamless pipe for energy use) will not pay the 25 percent tariff. They agreed to an annual […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our early May 2018 flat rolled and plate steel market trends survey. We sent invitations to 640 individuals representing approximately 620 companies mostly located in the United States and Canada. The purpose of our inquiries is to better follow various trends affecting the flat rolled and plate markets. We […]
Trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz has been gracious in offering our readers his take on trade issues on almost a daily basis. With the wide variety of trade issues confronting U.S. companies it is very difficult to stay on top of those that might affect your company, either today (such as Section 232 tariffs, AD/CVD duties) […]
Russian steelmaker NLMK says it may have to close its U.S. division if it does not receive an exemption from the 25 percent steel tariff. NLMK USA depends on slab shipments from Russia and cannot source enough slabs in the U.S. to maintain its operations. “Without exclusion for semi-finished steel slabs, the tariffs will have […]
Trade attorney Lewis E. Leibowitz has been providing updates on the Section 232 tariffs, product exclusions and country exclusions on almost a daily basis over the past couple of weeks. We have been sharing his thoughts with our readers as many of you are (or will be) impacted by the existence of tariffs and/or quotas. […]
Argentina and South Korea will be exempt from Section 232 tariffs in exchange for agreeing to quotas on steel and aluminum products. Argentina’s steel quota will be 135 percent of the average of Argentine steel exports during the past three years. The quota will allow the import of about 180,000 tons of steel per year […]
February and its 2.477 million tons of foreign steel imports seems like a long way off, based on the new license data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier this week. According to the license data, April is trending to come in just shy of 4 million net tons (3,879,350 tons). Semi-finished steels are […]
Ryerson Holding Corp. reported an exceptional first quarter with net income of $10.4 million and revenue of $942.3 million. First-quarter revenue improved 16.1 percent over fourth quarter due to higher volume, seasonal improvement, and higher average selling price. Ryerson shipments totaled 526,000 tons for the quarter at an average selling price of $1,790 per ton. […]
Peter Navarro and Wilbur Ross have gone to China to discuss trade and tariff issues. On their last day in Washington, they made some remarks about the steel and aluminum tariff measures announced Monday night. The picture is becoming clearer, but there are also more questions. Today, I am focusing on the Ross and Navarro […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices continue to show signs of stability as the market absorbs the most recent decision on Section 232 exclusions (countries) and awaits decisions about individual product exclusions. Steel Market Update continues to reference our SMU Price Momentum Indicator as being at Neutral, but I want to warn our readers that […]
Much has been written in the trade and consumer press regarding the status of the country exclusions to President Trump’s steel tariffs and the decision announced last night by the White House. The following is how trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz sees the state of the steel industry: On May 1, here is where we stand: […]
AK Steel reported solid first-quarter earnings but continued to advocate for trade action to curb unfair imports. “The high level of imports, particularly the ongoing surge of foreign electrical steel, remains a challenge, and we will continue to work proactively with the Trump administration to ensure fair and appropriate trade policies,” said AK Steel CEO […]
The American Institute for International Steel and the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users expressed their disappointment in the Section 232 announcement last night. AIIS President Richard Chriss and CAMMU issued the following statement: We are disappointed that the president did not act last night to end the uncertainty in the metals market by […]
Supply executives report that new orders, production and employment are growing, according to the latest survey by the Institute for Supply Management. The April PMI in the ISM Report on Business registered 57.3, a two-point decline from March. Most of the components of the PMI registered a decrease in percentage points from March, but were […]
This is Steel Market Update’s first Key Market Indicators report since April as we have renegotiated some data supply contracts and made a few changes to the content. The report still summarizes 36 data streams that we believe critically describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance to steel buyers. Data released […]
Indicators of manufacturing activity point to a strong first half for the U.S. economy and the steel industry. This report summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the United States. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore will be brief in […]
GDP growth slowed in the first quarter, but on a trailing 12-month basis has improved for the last seven quarters, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of government data. The first estimate of GDP in the first quarter was 2.32 percent, down from 2.87 percent in Q4 2017. Economy.com reported: “U.S. GDP growth moderated […]
Steel Market Update’s scrap sources expect ferrous scrap prices to drop by at least $10-$20 per ton in May, and possibly as much as $30-$40 per ton, as spring weather increases the scrap flows and boosts supply. Adding to the downward pressure on prices, they report, is weakness in the global market. One dealer in […]
Steel Market Update’s scrap sources expect ferrous scrap prices to drop by at least $10-$20 per ton in May, and possibly as much as $30-$40 per ton, as spring weather increases the scrap flows and boosts supply. Adding to the downward pressure on prices, they report, is weakness in the global market. One dealer in […]
Yet another mixed week as the flat rolled and plate steel markets wait for the government to decide what to do next… It’s tough to be a steel buyer when the laws of supply and demand are no longer in sync with the actual market. Hot rolled prices were mixed although the spread between Steel […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Product Exclusions—The Latest No objections to product exclusions had been posted on the regulations.gov website as of April 29. The BIS regulations require objections to be submitted to BIS within 30 days after a request has been posted. […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Product Exclusions—The Latest No objections to product exclusions had been posted on the regulations.gov website as of April 29. The BIS regulations require objections to be submitted to BIS within 30 days after a request has been posted. […]
This should come as no surprise to our readers, the theoretical spread between foreign steel export prices and the SMU hot rolled coil index average is quite large. However, when looking at foreign steel offers on hot rolled (and there are precious few) which range from $820-$840 per ton, according to SMU sources, the spread […]
Our apologies. On Thursday we used inaccurate import license data and the article we wrote was totally incorrect. Here is the corrected version with license data as of Wednesday, April 25. April 2018 licenses are suggesting the month will end with 3.9 million net tons of foreign steel imports. Of those, almost 1 million net […]
Just days before the U.S. is due to announce if it will extend the steel tariff exemptions it granted to its closest trading partners, officials in Canada announced plans to strengthen border enforcement to prevent transshipments and diversion of unfairly priced steel into North America. It’s difficult not to see a link between Canada’s announcement […]
This is going to be a crucial week for the steel industry and especially for those trading in foreign steel. As many of you know, President Trump set an expiration date to the country exclusions of May 1, 2018. That is Tuesday, so we should know more about what is going to happen over the […]
Steel producer Ternium reported shipments of 3.5 million tons in first-quarter 2018, a 3.0 percent increase from the fourth quarter and a 42 percent jump from Q1 2017. Higher steel prices pushed revenue up $45 per ton. Higher shipments were a result of a 160,000-ton increase in Mexico that was offset by a 48,000-ton decrease […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported record sales of $2.47 billion and record shipments of 1.6 million tons in the first quarter of 2018. “The positive pricing and demand fundamentals experienced in the fourth quarter of 2017 continued through the first quarter of 2018, with pricing momentum building throughout the quarter,” said President and CEO Gregg […]
The number of companies – especially service centers – reporting they have been on allocation or controlled order entry has dwindled over the past couple of weeks. Many companies are reporting extended lead times or an abundance of late deliveries, but no full allocations with their suppliers. The one exception being plate companies, where almost […]