Based on the most recent compiled license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, total steel imports are poised to rise by 6.8 percent in August compared to the prior month. August imports are forecast to be 2,691,265 net tons which are above both the 3 month and 12 month moving averages. August imports are […]
Sentiment Continues to Trend Higher (more optimistic) Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index was measured earlier today at +40, down 3 points from the middle of August and well within the optimistic range for the index. Compared to one year ago buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are feeling much better about […]
By the end of August SMU had adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral, SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index averaged +40 which is higher than the average from June and July and well within the optimistic range of our Index. Benchmark hot rolled prices moved essentially sideways as the numbers show below. […]
July imports rose slightly compared to June but were below the three month and twelve month moving averages. The SMU forecast for August imports is down slightly from July based on license data from this past week. We anticipate August imports to be 2.3-2.4 million tons. Below is the press release from the American Institute […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The SMU Key Market Indicators and Analysis will become part of the new Premium membership when the new SMU website comes up in September. The total number of indicators considered at present […]
Other metallic coated (mainly Galvalume) imports June 2013 and YTD by source and port of entry. This is the fourth of an expanded series of analyses, exclusive to the Steel Market Update that is designed to provide a much more comprehensive view of actual volume by product. This will enable a steel buyer or manager […]
This is one of an expanded series of analyses, exclusive to the Steel Market Update that is designed to provide a much more comprehensive view of actual volume of steel imports by product. This will enable a steel buyer or manager to see exactly what flat rolled steel came into his immediate vicinity and where […]
The erosion of the rupee brought the currency to a new record low on Monday at 62.76 to the U.S. dollar. A growing deficit at 4.8 percent of the GDP is blamed for the currency weakness in India that some say may be the country’s worst financial crisis in decades. The Royal Bank of […]
Chinese imports of iron ore in July were 73,140,000 metric tons, an increase of 17.4 percent from the previous month and an increase of 26.4 percent from July 2012. Year to date iron ore imports are at 457,230,000 MT through June. July imports of steel scrap were 280,000 MT, down 26.3 percent from June and […]
A Game Changer for the Domestic Steel Industry? The OCTG trade injury cases filed against nine countries will go forward said the US International Trade Commission on Friday. The ITC found there is “reasonable indication that a U.S. industry is materially injured by imports of certain oil country tubular goods.” The preliminary countervailing duty determinations […]
You will hear the term “spread” quite often when discussing the differences between flat rolled steel prices from one source to another. The term can be used when discussing domestic steel mills and their differences in pricing on the same product. It can also be used when discussing the differences between foreign steel imports and […]
Cold rolled sheet imports June 2013 and YTD by source and port of entry. This is one of an expanded series of analyses, exclusive to the Steel Market Update that is designed to provide a much more comprehensive view of actual volume by product. In the future, this data will be available to our Premium […]
This is one of an expanded series of analyses, exclusive to the Steel Market Update that is designed to provide a much more comprehensive view of actual volume by product. This will enable a steel buyer or manager to see exactly what came into his immediate vicinity and where it came from. This series of […]
Prepainted flat rolled imports declined on a month-over-month basis on all products with the exception of prepainted cold-rolled sheet and strip. Compared to the same month one year ago, prepainted imports increased for galvanized and electro-galvanized, but decreased for cold rolled sheet and strip. As you can see by our table below – prepainted cold […]
Written by: John Packard June apparent steel supply came in at 8,728,000 tons which was a 3.75 percent decline compared to the previous year. As you can see by the graphic below, all of the categories came in below June 2012 data. Year to date 2013 is on pace with 2012 averaging 7,900,000 tons […]
In three months through May exports of flat products declined as those of long products remained unchanged (see graphic below). Compared to May last year total exports were up by 311 tons. This result breaks down to flat products down 21,166 tons, longs down 29,114 tons and tubulars up 43,176 tons. In all three cases […]
One of the major steel related news stories for the month of July was the OCTG dumping suits filed by 9 U.S. producers. Nine oil country tubular goods (OCTG) producers – U.S. Steel, Maverick Tube Corp., Boomerang Tube, Energex Tube (division of JMC Steel Group), Northwest Pipe Co., Tejas Tubular Products, TMK IPSCO, Vallourec Star, […]
From Steel Market Update perspective there are a number of keys to watch during the month of August: • Scrap prices: Shredded scrap prices are forecast to be down $10-$20 per gross ton due to oversupply. Other scrap grades such as cut grades and prime are forecast to be sideways to down $5 per […]
By Sandy Williams Russel Metals reported second quarter earnings of $20 million on sales of $758 million, as compared to $23 million on sales of $719 millions in 2012. Revenues dropped 13 percent in the metals service center segment and 29 percent in the steel distributors segment due to lower demand levels and pricing. Energy […]
Imports of semi finished, and hot worked steel imports through July 2013 Imports of the combined tonnage of billets, blooms and slabs have been trending down for 12 months as have also the combined imports plate and sheet. Total long products have been trending up for all of 2013. These conclusions are based on a […]
Written by: Bradley Clark, Director of Steel Trading, Kataman Metals The HRC futures market has been exceptionally quiet over the past few weeks with almost no volume trading as the recent price hikes, uncertainty of pricing going forward and middling futures pricing has led most traders to sit on the sidelines awaiting the next price […]
SMU doesn’t normally publish obituaries. I found the one about Berthod Beitz former Chairman of Krupp Steel especially touching and important to acknowledge. For the younger generation the idea of death camps and the world at war must be quite foreign. Even those of us born after World War II have only faded memories of […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Participants in the July ISM Steel Buyers Survey reported lean inventories and lower than desired orders for July. Buyers reported tons on hand covered shipping levels for 2 months or less. Inventory levels were considered Right by 77.8 percent of those surveyed and Too High by 37.2 percent with plans to […]
Written by Sandy Williams The Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) has asked U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to protect domestic steel plate from an onslaught of imports from Europe. “We urge USTR to undertake a diplomatic initiative targeted at the European countries that are rapidly increasing their shipments of CTL plate and other products to the […]
Letter to the Editor: I would like to add to Peter Brebach’s comments regarding the recently filed dumping suits against nine countries and up front can agree that the majority of the nine countries will be found guilty of dumping [oil country tubular goods]. Since 1969 the domestic steel industry has filed more dumping complaints with […]
According to Preliminary Census Data, June imports into the United States were approximately 14 percent lower than what was reported for May 2013. The preliminary data has total imports at 2,442,082 net tons down from 2,838,293 tons in May. The June tonnage is below both the 3-month and 12-month moving averages. Compared to June 2012 […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Nucor is expecting shares to drop by half in the first quarter of 2013, falling to $0.20 to $0.25 per diluted share from $0.43 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2012 and $0.45 per diluted share in first quarter 2012. Weak performance in sheet steel offset by improved profitability […]
The chart below is for prepainted flat rolled steel imports. What we like to do is to show the base bare substrate and then the prepainted item as separate line items. As with many of our reports, to take the “noise” out we show the 3-month and 12-month moving averages, the change compared to the […]
Written by: Peter Wright Rolled steel imports through February 2013. The Steel Import Licensing system is so predictive of the final numbers that it’s quite valid to incorporate licensed tonnage into a current report. This means that by mid month a detailed import report can run for the previous month. License data does not include […]
Written by: Sandy Williams This year Nucor plans to spend $280 million on its Louisiana DRI facility and approximately $260 million towards its natural gas related investments. Essar Steel Minnesota is in talks to build a joint venture DRI plant. Voestalpine and Northstar Bluescope Steel are both considering DRI facilities. Severstal just postponed a DRI […]