Commerce released final steel import data this week showing October imports totaling 1.51 million net tons, up 20 percent over the month prior. Although imports increased for the month, recall that September imports had fallen to an 11-year low or 1.26 million tons. November import licenses are currently at the 1.40 million ton level, but […]
Steel supplies are so tight these days that $1,000 hot rolled is not out of the question. Which makes predictions of a coming “Steelmageddon” seem that much harder to believe. In fact, 60 percent of the service center and manufacturing executives who responded to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week do not view Steelmageddon as […]
The Commerce Department released a number of findings in antidumping and countervailing investigations this week. Of particular note were decisions on seamless pipe and steel wire strand. Commerce announced affirmative preliminary determinations in the countervailing duty investigations of seamless carbon and alloy steel standard, line, and pressure pipe from Russia and South Korea. Subsidy rates […]
Iron ore surged in early-December as Vale’s lowered guidance fueled concerns about iron ore availability going into 2021. Short-term market tightness also contributed to the rise as Chinese demand remained strong, while seaborne supply has continued to struggle. On Tuesday, Dec. 8, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $147.0 /dmt, an increase of $15.5 /dmt […]
Panelists in a webinar presented by the Alliance for American Manufacturing on Wednesday said an infrastructure bill and sensible trade policy should be top priorities for the new administration. Entitled “How Can President-Elect Joe Biden Build Back Better,” panel members discussed what the Biden administration will need to do to rebuild the economy. Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) […]
No one anticipated in August how quickly prices would go up, said CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores during this week’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. As four criteria lined up—steel-intensive industrial demand, low supply chain inventories, low imports, and domestic prices below global levels—steel prices in the U.S. surged at the fastest rate in 41 years, […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. The CME […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. David has over 20 years of trading experience in financial markets and has been active in the ferrous futures space for over eight years. You can learn more at www.thefeldstein.com or add him on twitter @TheFeldstein and on Instragram at #thefeldstein. Check out […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that steel imports continue to become more enticing to U.S. buyers, according to the latest SMU and CRU price indices. U.S. producers have again lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East Asia, and imports from Germany and Italy are […]
Steel prices continued to climb in November on strong demand and tight steel supplies. Steel Market Update’s hot rolled price index reached $770 per ton by the end of November, up 10 percent from the beginning of the month. The SMU Pricing Momentum Indicator remained at Higher, indicating prices are expected to rise further over […]
Preliminary census data shows October imports totaling 1.50 million net tons, up 19 percent over the 11-year low seen in September. For comparison, the lowest monthly import level in the past two decades occured in June 2009 at 862,000 tons. Due to large month-to-month swings in semifinished imports, the chart below shows total monthly imports on […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: The transition to a new administration is now strongly under way. Tomorrow, the president-elect is set to name additional members of his economic team, including the roster of international trade officials. The time for speculation is over since […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: As the 2020 election approaches its final chapters, the legal system has been front-page news. No less important is the rule of law in international trade matters. The Trump campaign and its allies have approached the courts to […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: At the end of 2020, rather than looking back I’d like to look forward. Anyone care to join me? We can anticipate some major changes in government and the economy. The Biden-Harris administration takes over in exactly one […]
Three out of four respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week said they expect to see shortages and possible allocation of steel in the next few months. Buyers report that deliveries from all the mills are routinely 2-4 weeks late. Service centers are getting inquiries from other service centers, even competitors, who […]
“Market’s great if you have supply.” I was speaking with a service center this afternoon who told me on Monday of this week they were selling spot hot rolled out of inventory at $840 per ton. Then Nucor raised their spot HRC number for February to $840 per ton. Today, all items through this service […]
“Market’s great if you have supply.” I was speaking with a service center this afternoon who told me on Monday of this week they were selling spot hot rolled out of inventory at $840 per ton. Then Nucor raised their spot HRC number for February to $840 per ton. Today, all items through this service […]
In an interview with Steel Market Update on Thursday, Philip Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association in Washington, shared his thoughts on what the change of presidential administration means for the steel industry and SMA. Following is an edited transcript: SMU: Will the change in administration next year change SMA’s mission? Bell: As a […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that steel imports have become more enticing to U.S. buyers than in previous months, according to the latest SMU and CRU price indices. In our previous update in early November, U.S. producers had lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East […]
Expect another two months of uneasiness and confusion on the future of the economy, says Armada Corporate Intelligence Managing Director and Economist Chris Kuehl. Although a recovery is under way, its sustainability will depend on consumer attitude, potential lockdowns and the speed of a vaccine. In a FABTECH webinar this week, The New Global Normal: […]
Kevin Dempsey, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Iron and Steel Institute, is confident the industry trade association will be able to work productively with the incoming Biden administration in pursuit of the steel industry’s goals. “Obviously there will be a change in personality and personnel in key positions, but at the […]
National level import reports do a good job of measuring the overall market pressure caused by the imports of individual products. The downside is that there are huge regional differences. This report examines other metallic coated imports (mainly Galvalume) by region through September 2020. In September, OMC imports were up by 0.9 percent at the […]
National level import reports do a good job of measuring the overall market pressure caused by the imports of individual products. The downside is that there are huge regional differences. This report examines hot-dipped galvanized imports by region through September 2020. In September, hot dipped galvanized (HDG) imports were down by 11.4 percent at the […]
National level import reports do a good job of measuring the overall market pressure caused by the imports of individual products. The downside is that there are huge regional differences. This report examines cold rolled coil imports by region through September 2020. In September year to date, cold rolled imports were down by 13.8 percent at […]
National level import reports do a good job of measuring the overall market pressure caused by the imports of individual products. The downside is that there are huge regional differences. This report examines hot rolled coil imports by region through September 2020. In September, hot rolled imports were down by 15.3 percent at the national […]
National level import reports do a good job of measuring the overall market pressure caused by the imports of individual products. The downside is that there are huge regional differences. This report examines coiled plate imports by region through September 2020. In September year to date, coiled plate imports were down by 34.2 percent at […]
National level import reports do a good job of measuring the overall market pressure caused by the imports of individual products. The downside is that there are huge regional differences. This report examines cut-to-length plate imports by region through September 2020. In September year to date, cut-to-length (CTL) plate imports were down by 45.2 percent […]
NLMK USA has reached a settlement with the U.S. government regarding its challenge to the denial of Section 232 exclusions on steel slab imports. NLMK USA filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in February 2020, covering 86 requests for slab exclusions submitted by the company in 2018. NLMK USA argued that […]
Editor’s note 11/17/20: The data in the “Supply Tons YTD” column on Table 3 didn’t populate correctly, and therefore, was in error. Table 3 has now been updated accordingly. Mill shipments and supply of sheet products continue to see slight yet steady growth since reaching bottom in June. This analysis is based on steel mill […]
The Perfect Storm: Long lead times, late deliveries, low service center inventories, strong demand, higher prices, lack of foreign steel imports, mill outages both planned and unplanned, maximum capacity utilization rates at a number of mills, NLMK USA strike, higher ferrous scrap prices that are expected to go much higher in the coming months, restrictions […]