As our regular readers already know, Steel Market Update has begun to project steel imports for the current month based on U.S. Department of Commerce license data. We advise our readers to be familiar with the US DOC license program (called SIMA) and the nuances with the program which were addressed in an article by […]
Apparent supply is defined as domestic mill shipments to domestic locations plus imports. The three month moving average of the total tonnage of sheet and strip supply was 4,383,635 tons per month in the period November through January. This was down by 3.8 percent from the August through October period and up by 0.2 percent […]
One of our readers sent me an article produced by another steel-related publication about the state of Kentucky offering financial incentives to AK Steel. The Kentucky Industrial Revitalization Act is being extended with one of the hopes that AK Steel will use the incentives to help reline the Ashland blast furnace. The question asked by […]
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 […]
For our Premium Level members – we should have a special Premium Supplemental newsletter for you by Wednesday afternoon. In it will be an article on currency values and changes and their impact on the market as well as our imports by product, port and country. We will be including slabs in our import by […]
An ousted president, deadly violence, military insurgence and a possible secession—the crisis in the Ukraine has been moving at an alarming speed in the last several weeks. As the Ukraine struggles to create a new government, economic sanctions are increasingly being considered by the global powers to sway preferred outcomes. The US and the EU […]
Russia and the Ukraine are major steel producers and exporters of steel to the rest of the world. Under the current political upheaval associated with these two countries, Steel Market Update thought it might be interesting for our readers to understand what steel products are being imported from the two countries into the United States. […]
Total steel imports in January were 3,205,246 net tons (NT), the highest levels Steel Market Update has recorded since we began keeping track of monthly import data in mid-2009. January tonnage is a 27.9 percent increase over December figures and well above both the three month moving average (3MMA) and twelve month moving average (12MMA). […]
Steel Market Update has become aware of price negotiations on benchmark hot rolled within the past couple of weeks which took base prices below $600 per ton ($30.00/cwt). We have also learned of situations at two mills which took light gauge galvanized product below $36.00/cwt base pricing. In both cases, the offers were for large […]
Steel Market Update covers subjects in a variety of ways for our specific member groups. In the article below, Peter Wright provides a deeper analysis of preliminary steel import license numbers for flat rolled steel products which normally goes to our Premium Level customers: This month we decided to start this piece with a review […]
During the fourth week of February Steel Market Update conducted our third monthly forecast projecting the number of foreign imports due into the United States during the month of February. What Steel Market Update does each week (except the first week of the month) is to review the U.S. Department of Commerce import license data […]
The US Department of Commerce said it will maintain anti-dumping and countervailing duties on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imported from China, in announcement made earlier this month (February). The recent decision closed loopholes in the 2009 AD/CV duties imposed by the International Trade Commission, which allowed pipe made in China but finished in other […]
Iron ore inventories in China are bloated with 100.91 million metric tons of ore now sitting at the 40 major ports in China. This number has grown since the 86 million metric tons reported prior to the beginning of the Chinese New Year in January. This growth continues despite a slowdown in the Chinese steel […]
During the month of February the U.S. Department of Commerce released their preliminary determinations regarding anti-dumping duty suits which were brought by the domestic steel mills and OCTG producers against 9 countries. The results will not make the domestic mills and OCTG happy as the biggest fish – Korea – escaped unscathed. The U.S. Department […]
The following article was written by steel industry consultant and contributor to Steel Market Update, Paul Lowrey. Mr. Lowrey owns a consulting company called Steel Research Associated, LLC which works with steel mills and large distributors or manufacturing companies involved with steel and steel products. More information about Mr. Lowrey can be found in the […]
The following article was written by David Phelps, the recently retired director of the American Institute for International Steel and now a contributing writer for Steel Market Update. You can find more information about Mr. Phelps in the About Us section of our website. On February 18th, the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration shocked […]
This article was originally published on Thursday, February 27th and was written by Andre Marshall, CEO of Crunch Risk, LLC. Andre is an expert in the futures/derivatives markets. Financial Markets: Two weeks back on the 13th the S+P 500 was approx 1825, and, as I mentioned, headed to test 1846 again. We bounced of that […]
While attending the FMA Toll Processing Conference I ran across someone associated with Feralloy Processing Company who spoke to me about the upgrades they had made to one of their levelers. I requested more information and learned that the company had recently purchased and installed a Butech Bliss patent pending Synergy hydraulic operated roller leveler […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce recently released updated import statistics including preliminary January figures. According to the latest data, total steel imports in January were 3,172,481 net tons (NT), up 26.6 percent compared to the 2,506,795 NT imported in December. Total February imports are projected to be 3,012,761 NT, a 5.0 percent decrease over January. […]
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 at present is thirty-six. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. The present situation of […]
Financial Markets: Two weeks back on the 13th the S+P 500 was approx 1825, and, as I mentioned, headed to test 1846 again. We bounced of that 1846 on the 19th only to retest it again on the 24th with better results, reaching our 1858 all time high. Since then, we are essentially sideways in […]
Steel Market Update has been in constant contact with one of our Asian trading sources who is a trader of iron ore to Chinese steel mills and exporter of finished steel out of China around the world. We have been discussing the iron ore “bubble” which continues to inflate and our source believes it will […]
Chinese imports of iron ore in January were 86,830,000 metric tons (MT), an increase of 18.3 percent from the previous month and an increase of 32.5 percent from January 2012. Total iron ore imports for 2013 were adjusted to 819,410,000 MT. January imports of steel scrap were 160,000 MT, down 48.4 percent from December and […]
This is the fourth week in February and our third forecast regarding foreign imports into the United States. What Steel Market Update does each week (except the first week of the month) is to review the U.S. Department of Commerce import license data and then, based on the most recent numbers, project import levels by […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our mid-February flat rolled steel market survey this past week. Our surveys are by invitation only and our current invitee list consist of 586 companies. The vast majority of the individuals or companies associated with our survey have been vetted by SMU management to insure that we are working from […]
The US is experiencing a revolution in the oil and gas markets. The spot price of natural gas delivered to the Henry Hub in Louisiana has risen by 50 percent since January 10th and was $6.55 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Wednesday, February 19. This is the highest spot price in over five […]
A stronger performance is expected in all end-markets for 2014 said Reliance Steel & Aluminum in the company’s recent conference call. The following are some comments by Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board David Hannah and Gregg Mollins, President and Chief Operating Officer on the steel market and industry. Regarding pricing Gregg Mollins […]
Iron ore inventories in China are bloated with 100.91 million metric tons of ore now sitting at the 40 major ports in China. This number has grown since the 86 million metric tons reported prior to the beginning of the Chinese New Year in January. This growth continues despite a slowdown in the Chinese steel […]
The hot rolled coil futures market took a leg down this week as offers down the curve became more aggressive. After weeks and months of a fairly static forward curve, this renewed downward pressure of the past few days has shaken up the market. The Q2 traded today as low as $623, the Q3-4 at […]
The following article was written by David Phelps, the recently retired director of the American Institute for International Steel and now a contributing writer for Steel Market Update. You can find more information about Mr. Phelps in the About Us section of our website. On February 18th, the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration shocked […]