Tag: Imports

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to imports and evolving market events.

Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves had some insightful things to say today about the steel market and about a conference we suspect might be Steel Summit.

SMU’s sheet price ranges slid again this week. But the declines were more pronounced on tandem products whereas prices for hot-rolled coil held roughly steady.

Cleveland-Cliffs’ earnings tumbled in the second quarter as the company cited weak demand and pricing.

Cleveland-Cliffs is starting a new electrical distribution transformer production plant in Weirton, W.Va.

The price gap between US cold-rolled (CR) coil and imported CR has fallen to a 10-month low as domestic tags continue to drift lower. Domestic CR coil prices averaged $920 per short ton (st) in our check of the market on Tuesday, July 16, down $40/st from the week before. CR tags are now down […]

The United Kingdom and other countries are using the “green” label to subsidize bailouts of obsolete, inefficient, and excess capacity that should exit the market. US steelmakers have invested billions of dollars in technologies that curb greenhouse gas output. These investments have been market-based and led by EAF producers such as Nucor, Steel Dynamics, and CMC.

Steel Dynamics Inc. executives provided further insight into operations at the company’s Sinton, Texas, flat-rolled steel mill on a second-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday morning. Despite a series of start-up woes, the company recently commissioned two new coating lines there, and the mill continues to ramp up production. The execs were also bullish on […]

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices this week drifted further below offshore hot band prices on a landed basis. The premium is now near a two-year low. SMU’s check of the market on Tuesday, July 16, put domestic HR coil tags at $640 per short ton (st) on average, down $10/st from last week. Stateside hot […]

There are a lot of rumors swirling around the steel market over the last couple of weeks. Chief among them was that we might see a price hike after Independence Day. Another concerns a key detail in the new Section 232 agreement with Mexico. Namely, steel imported from Brazil into Mexico. Of particular interest is its potential implication for slabs imported from Brazil, rolled in Mexico, and then exported to the US.

Steel is, mostly for historical reasons, a bellwether of international policy. No longer an industry of primary importance, its advocates still proclaim that it is. And steel still continues to punch above its weight in Washington, DC. Below are a few recent examples.

Offshore cold-rolled (CR) coil remains cheaper than domestic product. The gap continues to tighten, however, as US CR coil prices slip to a nine-month low. Domestic CR coil tags averaged $960 per short ton (st) in our check of the market on Tuesday, July 9, down $5/st from the week before. CR tags are now […]

A roundup of CRU aluminum news.

Renewable energy infrastructure, including wind turbines, solar farms, and electric-vehicle charging stations, requires substantial amounts of steel. The domestic steel industry, with its capacity to produce world-class steel with the world’s smallest carbon footprint, should be at the forefront of this supply chain. Yet the United States is increasingly importing steel from abroad to meet its renewable energy needs.

The Mexican government said on Thursday that it had negotiated a temporary carve out for Brazilian steel in recently updated Section 232 rules. Mexico said that the pact would stretch until 2027, by which point all steel exported to the US would have to me “melted and poured” within North America.

The volume of finished steel entering the US market, dubbed ‘apparent steel supply,’ ticked up 3% from April to May according to SMU analysis of Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data.

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices continued to drift lower this week, falling further below imported hot band tags on a landed basis. SMU’s check of the market on Tuesday, July 9, put domestic HR coil tags at $650 per short ton (st) on average, down $15/st vs. last week. Domestic HR coil prices are now […]

The US and Mexico announced measures on Wednesday to prevent tariff evasion and protect North America’s steel and aluminum industries.

Three steel trade groups and United Steelworkers (USW) union held an event on Capitol Hill urging action on strengthening legislation against unfair trade.

US steel imports registered a steep decline from May, with June licenses falling to the lowest monthly level so far this year.

Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to imports and evolving market events.

The volume of steel shipped into Vietnam more than doubled in May to 1.1 million (mt), with China’s share above 70%, according to customs’ statistics. In the first five months, Chinese imports were more than 4.7 million mt, an increase of 91% year on year.

First off, we hope everyone had a safe and happy July 4th holiday, with fireworks seen and BBQs attended. Many parts of the country are quite toasty at the moment, signaling that, yes, summer has indeed arrived. And looking at our most recent survey results, the summer doldrums have arrived as well.

North America has one of the most robust steel scrap markets in the world. The continent has a long history of steel production, significant imports of steel and steel-containing products, and mature steel consumption. Due to this, the reservoir of scrap available to be recycled each year in the US and other North American markets is substantial and growing.

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices fell again this week – now on a 13-week run – causing tags to drift further below offshore hot band prices on a landed basis.

Steel mill lead times remain near some of the lowest levels witnessed in months, according to our latest market canvass to steel service centers and manufacturers.

Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]

It’s been a slow start to the week as far as news goes, something you’d expect ahead of a shortened Independence Day week. That said, it’s not as if transactions have completely ground to a halt. (Prices continue to drift lower.) And while news might be slow, rumors of low-priced deals, price hikes, and trade cases seem to have filled that void.

Antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs), in place for more than twenty years on imports of hot-rolled (HR) steel from six countries, are up for their fourth sunset review.

At the end of every Supreme Court term there are a few big cases. This year, there are more. The last day for releasing opinions comes July 1. On Friday, the Court issued a long-awaited and long-expected decision about interpreting statutes that give powers to administrative agencies, including (among many others) the Commerce Department, the […]