By CRU Multi Commodity Analyst Alex Christopher and Research Analyst James Mills, from CRU’s Steel Monitor, Feb. 17 The only certainty about the heightened state of East-West relations playing out over Ukraine is that the stakes are high. The gulf between Russian security concerns and guiding principles of NATO, the EU, and western liberalism are […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg and Senior Coal Analyst Dmitry Popov, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Feb. 24 On Feb. 24, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine as President Vladmir Putin ordered a large-scale “specialized military operation.” Russian troops entered Ukrainian territory – from Belarus in the north, the separatist-controlled regions in the […]
For those of you who don’t pay attention to such things, today’s date is 2/22/22…. On Monday, Cleveland-Cliffs announced on their website their intention of indefinitely idling the #4 blast furnace at Indiana Harbor, and a $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt) price increase on orders slated for production in April 2022. Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves spoke […]
The Port of Los Angeles reported its busiest January ever, and data from port operations suggests the backup of container ships off the coast may be easing. The port processed 865,595 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in January, a 3.6% increase compared to last year. It was the highest volume in the port’s 115-year history and […]
The Tampa Steel Conference has wrapped up, and I thank all of you who attended and who took the time to catch up with me on stage or along the sidelines. Below are five themes that I took away from the event. If I were to sum it up in a sentence, it’s this: Steel […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz At last week’s Tampa Steel Conference, I participated with three colleagues in a broad-ranging discussion on international trade issues affecting steel producers and users. We covered quite a few issues. One of these was related to so-called “overcapacity” in steel production around the world. As those who have read my […]
Ferrous scrap has been described as “the new precious metal,” as mills all over the world invest in scrap-fed electric arc furnaces as a means of lowering harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, prime scrap may prove to be even more rare and prized than most realize. In the United States alone, producers will add 5.3 […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group We all read the same financial press. I am sure the readers share the feeling that it is always interesting when you hear experts opining about something in your chosen area of expertise. I was reminded of this when reading recent remarks from Jeff Currie, the widely respected and […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
Spot market prices are moving and moving very quickly. One of the service centers I communicated with today said, “I’ve not seen a market downturn quite like this one (nor the upside either), and it’s making the discovery of legit pricing quite difficult. I will say, the one constant I keep hearing is that the […]
Ternium plans to invest $1 billion to expand the operations of its Pesquería flat steel facility in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The news came during the steelmaker’s fourth-quarter conference call on Wednesday, Feb. 16, when the Latin American steel group’s chief executive officer, Máximo Vedoya, confirmed the company was in the final stage of studying an […]
Industry analyst Paul Lowrey is “bullish on the short-term outlook for steel,” but his goal as a presenter during the Tampa Steel Conference this week was “to get some of you to think differently about what is going on.” Lowrey, founder of Pittsburgh-based Steel Research Associates, is a contrarian when it comes to the common […]
Foreign steel imports from the three regions tracked by Steel Market Update have nearly lost their price advantage over domestic steel, according to our latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. Foreign HRC prices are now theoretically just $7-80 per ton cheaper than domestic steel, after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs […]
Ternium reported net earnings of $1.136 billion in the fourth quarter 2021, down from $1.366 billion in the prior quarter, but a 31.4% boost from $865 million in the fourth quarter of 2020. The steelmaker achieved record profitability for the full year ended Dec. 31, 2021, with earnings totaling $4.367 billion, more than a five-fold […]
Flat Rolled = 56.1 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 56 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories fell from their December highs, though the seasonal pick-up in demand in January was weaker than expected. At the end of January, service centers carried 56.1 shipping days of supply on an […]
Imports of less-expensive sheet and plate products continued to arrive on U.S. shores at the end of 2021, but at a slower pace. December marked the first decrease in overall flat product imports in eight months, according to Commerce Department data. Driven by the need for buyers to find relief from inflated steel prices in […]
U.S. apparent steel supply levels slipped 3% from November to December, down 286,000 net tons to 9.48 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. Recall that September 2021 saw the highest monthly supply level in over six years, going back to January 2015 when supply surpassed 10 […]
2022 is shaping up to be a good year for energy tubulars. With the U.S. economy near pre-pandemic levels, demand is up for oil and gas – and the oil country tubular goods (OCTG) and line pipe needed to deliver them. Rising energy prices are spurring increased drilling, while declining steel prices are lowering the […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz On Feb. 7, the United States and Japan announced their long-expected deal to replace most of the Section 232 tariffs on steel (25%) with a tariff rate quota or TRQ. The overall quota from Japan will be about 1.25 million metric tons per year, which is far smaller than imports […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, Feb. 9 The global sheet market often exhibits price trends that vary by region. Occasionally, prices do move in the same direction, though on these occasions, prices typically reflect a unified trend of global costs or inventory change. In the current sheet […]
By CRU Economist Veronika Akhmadieva and CRU Senior China Economist Henry Hao from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook, Feb. 14 The last day of 2021 marked the end of the two-year period during which China agreed to increase imports of certain goods and services from the U.S. by a combined $200 billion. These targets have been […]
Total mill shipments of steel products rebounded in December to 8.985 million tons, a 7.8% increase over November’s 8.334 million tons, and the highest monthly total for 2021. Apparent supply saw a 5.0% boost in December, rising for the second straight month following repeated decreases in September and October. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment […]
Final Census data shows U.S. steel imports fell 8% from November to December to 2.89 million net tons, the fifth highest monthly level in 2021. January import licenses through Feb. 7 are currently at 3.04 million tons, a 5% jump from December, but down 4% compared to November. Recall that total imports in September had reached a 28-month […]
The U.S. has announced that a deal has been reached with Japan to ease Section 232 national security tariffs on steel imports from the key U.S. ally. The U.S. Commerce Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced the deal at around 5 pm Eastern Time on Monday, Feb. 7, as SMU had […]
The United States and Japan are expected to announce this afternoon a new deal on Section 232 regarding Japanese steel exports to the U.S., according to sources familiar with the matter. The new agreement will be a tariff rate quota, or TRQ, broadly similar to one negotiated between the U.S. and the EU last year. […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz The White House released a long-awaited decision on the future of special safeguard remedies for the solar industry on Friday. The decision may provide a glimpse into the trade philosophy of the Biden administration. First, a bit of background. The Trump-era tariffs began in January 2018 with decisions under the […]
Plate prices have been remarkably steady in the face of sheet price declines of hundreds of dollars per ton. That trend probably can’t hold for much longer, and plate prices are overdue for a correction, according to market contacts and SMU data. For starters, look at the chart below: HRC prices have fallen from $1,600 […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Given the fact that the standoff in Ukraine is ongoing, we thought it appropriate to stay on this theme of Russian aluminum supply and how the Russians try to overcome sanctions. The Ties that Bind Us Together – Russia and China Russia and China have a long association going […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute sent a letter to House members Wednesday urging them to support the America COMPETES Act of 2022, which aims to enhance U.S. competitiveness to counter alleged nonmarket policies and practices by China. The legislation will strengthen the U.S. trade remedy laws by making more tools available to obtain timely […]
Hot rolled imports continue to tempt U.S. buyers with potential discounts of 14-23% over domestic prices, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price comparison. Foreign hot rolled steel prices are now theoretically $177-283 per ton cheaper than domestic steel, after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration. However, this foreign […]