Cliffs Natural Resources’ supply agreement with ArcelorMittal “put the final nail in the coffin of Essar Steel Minnesota.” That is the opinion of Star Tribune columnist, Lee Schafer. Schafer has a point, with Cliffs gobbling up Northern steel mill contracts, Essar will have no customers even if it is able to pull itself out of […]
SMU received a couple of inquiries about sheet shipments and one of our Premium customers had a specific question about the data presented in one of our Premium supplemental issues last week. We thought that we should share the data and then present at the end the question and our response for all of our […]
According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of April 2016 was 8,634,917 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US steel exports. April apparent […]
Licensed data for May was reported by the Steel Import Monitoring System of the US Commerce Department on June 3rd. An explanation of the methodology that we at SMU use to analyze the trade data is given at the end of this piece. Total rolled product licensed imports in the single month of May were […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through April 2016 and year on year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side by side comparison of the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron […]
Recent reports on India’s steel sector are providing mixed signals on the industry’s health. The nation’s steel industry has suffered two years of low prices and subdued demand but rising GDP and the onset of monsoons after a severe drought may stimulate new orders. “Indian steel demand rose 4.5 per cent in the financial year […]
This Key Markets Indicator report is something we produce for our Premium level clients. However, we thought that our Executive level readers would appreciate knowing why we continue to be bullish on the direction of the market based on our analysis of the Key Market Indicators. An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given […]
The American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) publishes a monthly report on U.S. steel imports. Below is the June report covering the month of April. Falls Church, VA. June 3, 2016. Steel imports decreased by 5.6 percent from March to April, dropping to 2.46 million net tons, 30 percent less than a year earlier. Imports […]
Late this afternoon one of our readers forwarded to us an article from one of the other steel periodicals referencing foreign steel prices as “falling fast.” Steel Market Update’s perspective (and those from our steel trading sources) is different than what another periodical may be reporting. We believe that one must look at the bigger […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered in this analysis is currently 34. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. Readers should […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by Andre Marshall and Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how they saw trading over the past week: Financial Markets: We are testing the highs, literally. The S&P is right up against the 2105-2210 resistance, […]
The metalforming industry is expecting a slight dip in business conditions in the next three months according to the May 2016 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. The May report, sampling 114 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada, indicated companies are expecting incoming order levels to remain unchanged during the next few […]
Manufacturing grew for the third straight month according to supply executives surveyed in the ISM Manufacturing Report on Business. The May PMI was 51.3, up 0.5 percent from April. Although the PMI didn’t have a large gain, the three month upward trend is good news since the PMI was in contraction (below 50) from October […]
On June 1, 2016, the Department of Commerce announced its affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping (AD) investigations of imports of circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe from Pakistan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The investigations cover welded carbon-quality steel pipe and tube, of circular cross-section, with an outside diameter not more than 16 inches, […]
U.S. flat rolled steel service centers were able to reduce their excess inventories by 222,000 tons, according to our proprietary analysis of the MSCI data released earlier this month. Our Apparent Excess/Deficit model has the distributors carrying a 46,000 ton excess as of the end of April. This is the first time we have seen […]
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 […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) does not anticipate the spread between hot rolled base prices and those of domestic galvanized/Galvalume will be reduced any time soon. The U.S. Department of Commerce latest ruling on corrosion resistant steels will put new wind in the steel mills sails. The DOC final determinations on antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by Dave Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. […]
According to a report by Platts, Eurofer has petitioned the European Commission to expand its AD investigation into imports of HRC from China to include HRC from Turkey, Russia, Brazil, Iran and the Ukraine. Charles de Lusignan, Communications Manager for Eurofer, said he could not confirm or deny that report. It is Eurofer’s policy not […]
One of the most important indices a steel buyer (or seller) can follow is that of the value of the U.S. dollar vs. the currency of the key steel trading nations. As the dollar value rises or falls, commodities, including steel, tend to be affected. Currency update articles are normally reserved for our Premium Members […]
The American Manufacturing and Competitiveness Act of 2016 was passed by Congress and signed into law on May 20, 2016. The bill H.R. 4923 creates a transparent process for businesses to request duty suspensions and reductions on imported products for which there is no, or insufficient, domestic availability. The bill calls for regular updates to […]
There could be a further divergence between hot rolled base pricing and that of coated steels. With the combination of the corrosion resistant “final determination” ruling by the US Department of Commerce and the reduction of hot rolled price offers from offshore into the United States, well, things are a little out of whack. In […]
Whenever SMU speaks to steel buyers about flat rolled steel pricing cycles we inevitably hear about how the domestic steel mills have a tendency to over-correct to both the low and the high sides of the cycle (boom/bust). In the process there seems to be an assurance that market volatility will continue to be significant […]
Earlier today the HARDI wholesalers conducted their May galvanized steel conference call. The wholesalers on the call service the mechanical contractors involved in the residential and commercial construction markets supplying galvanized sheet and coil and other products used in the heating and air-conditioning markets. Needless to say, the call was well attended in response to […]
As we write this article we are aware that the US Department of Commerce will be releasing their “Final Determination” on corrosion resistant steels tomorrow (Wednesday). We will cover their announcement in a special edition of SMU once the announcement is made. We thought our readers would be interested in seeing both the build-up of […]
California Steel informed their customers earlier today that they were opening their August order book and their transactional (spot) prices on all flat rolled steel products produced by CSI were being increased as follows: Hot Rolled +$130 per ton ($6.50/cwt)HRP&O +$130 per ton ($6.50/cwt)Cold Rolled +$150 per ton ($7.50/cwt)Galvanized +$150 per […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of April 2016, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports, and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in April were 83,920,000 metric tons, a decrease of 2.2 percent from the previous month but an increase of 4.6 percent 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 […]
Last week the Department Commerce slapped AD/CVD duties totaling over 500 percent on China cold rolled steel flat products. China immediately challenged the determination, calling for removal of the penalties and reaffirming the rebates awarded to its industry to help with solving the steel and coal overcapacity. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce confirmed that it […]
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 […]