By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor The LME is preparing to move from trading in the ring to electronic settlement pricing as the UK ramps up Covid-19 restrictions on all but essential activities and LME prices continue to take a hammering. While Chinese demand is gradually recovering from the Q1 shock of […]
Updated February steel import license data was released this week, remaining in the 1.9 million net ton range for total steel imports, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Finished steel imports in February were at 1.5 million tons, down over January’s 1.6 million ton level and below the 2019 finished import average of 1.7 […]
Steel Dynamics and Nucor are both expecting improved earnings for the first quarter of 2020 due to higher steel prices and increased shipments. So far, the impact from the COVID-19 outbreak has been minimal on supply chains and operations, said the companies. Disruptions are expected, however, as more manufacturers temporarily suspend production and construction activity […]
The currencies of the commodity dependent nations have crashed in a flight to the safe haven of the U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar strengthened against 13 of the 16 steel and raw materials trading nation currencies in the last three months. In the last 30 days, the currencies of Brazil, Mexico and Russia were down […]
Mill shipments of sheet products in January were the highest since August 2019. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). This month we are producing a new report for long products and will follow this […]
Demand for long products declined by 3.5 percent in the three months through January, but rebar was up by 9.6 percent. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). It summarizes total steel supply by product […]
By CRU Analyst Arshiya Sibia and Research Manager Paul Butterworth, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Current information from our China team shows that steel demand is closely tracking our base case forecast for the impact of Covid-19, though steel production remains slightly higher than we had forecast. While our forecast was for steel demand to return […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update have access to reports on our website that break out the import tonnage into district of entry and source nation for six sheet and plate product categories. This report takes the total national tonnage of hot rolled and breaks it down into product detail. Using U.S. International Trade Commission […]
Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) data, Steel Market Update has broken down the import tonnage of cold rolled sheet into coil and leveled, four thickness ranges, and how much was full hard, annealed and high strength. This update examines the total cold rolled sheet and strip imports into the U.S. for 2019 as a […]
In the course of 2019, imports of hot rolled coil into the Gulf had declined to almost zero by December. SMU presents a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The report you are reading now […]
Editor’s note: This article is reprinted from last week’s Premium issue with corrected charts. In 2019 the imports of cold rolled sheet into the Gulf and Great Lakes moved dramatically in opposite directions. SMU presents a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the detailed look at volume […]
In 2019, imports of hot dipped galvanized sheet into the Great Lakes represented more than half the national total, and this was one of only two regions to experience an increase in 2019. SMU presents a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the detailed look at volume […]
In 2019, most of the imports of other metallic coated sheet (mainly Galvalume) came into the Gulf, but that volume has declined as the Great Lakes volume has increased. SMU presents a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the detailed look at volume by district of entry […]
In 2019, imports of cold rolled plate declined in all regions, and the Great Lakes accounted for 69.2 percentage of the total national tonnage. SMU presents a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the very detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The […]
In 2019, imports of cut to length plate declined in all regions except the Gulf, which increased by 45.1 percent. SMU presents a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. The report you are reading now […]
U.S. ports are canceling shifts and closing terminals due to shipping disruption stemming from coronavirus-related production cuts in China. The largest impact is on West Coast ports that serve as primary shipping destinations for Chinese imports. More than half of the volume at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach originates from China. Container […]
The following article discussing the global ferrous derivatives markets was written by David Feldstein. As an independent steel market analyst, advisor and trader, we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Note that Steel Market Update does not take any positions on HRC or scrap trading, and any recommendations or comments […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose slightly by 1.3 percent m/m to 206.4 (see chart). While this is broadly stable it bucked the trend compared to steel markets, which came under relatively more price pressure. Structurally, most markets were similar in condition to […]
Apparent U.S. steel supply jumped to 9.5 million net tons in January, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute and U.S. Department of Commerce. January apparent supply is now on the high-side compared to the last few years, a nice recovery from November’s three-year low and other late-2019 lows. Apparent steel supply, […]
By CRU Senior Cost Economist Ross Cunningham, additional analysis by Ippolito Tarabini and Will Young The oil market is currently facing a large degree of uncertainty. Oil prices could feasibly remain around $40/bbl for a significant period of time. Three key judgements will determine CRU’s oil price forecast for 2020: (I) the extent to which […]
Final January steel import data was released this week, resting at 3.1 million net tons, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The last time a final monthly figure was this high was in April 2019 at 3.3 million tons. License data currently shows February imports at 1.8 million tons. As previously mentioned, the total […]
Imports of rolled products have declined every month since May 2018 year over year with the greatest declines in each month December 2019 through February 2020. Total rolled product imports in February were down by 26.7 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 26.3 percent decrease in December and 29.6 percent […]
In spite of the widely reported decline in import volume, import market share increased in the second quarter. Last week we reported that June was the eighth consecutive month in which imports were down by more than 20 percent compared to the same month last year. This has not been the case for import market […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories. Since January 2020, imports’ share of the total sheet products has been 14.5 percent, down from 21.4 percent in 2015. The import share of HRC has been below 10 percent since January 2019. The most striking finding in this […]
AK Steel could be in danger of mill closures, said soon-to-be CEO Lourenco Goncalves, if stronger protection is not provided against electrical steel imports. In a warning to members of the Congressional Steel Caucus, Goncalves said the AK Steel mills in Butler, Pa., and Zanesville, Ohio, are unprofitable because of a loophole in the Section […]
Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market fell by $5-9 /s.ton, w/w with HR coil losing the most, assessed at $560 /s.ton. These prices reflect transactions from last week, which were primarily conducted ahead of recently announced mill price increases. While prices fell, the overall volume component fell at a faster rate. Until the price […]
Earlier this week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled against an appeal by the American Institute for International Steel challenging the constitutionality of the Section 232 tariffs. The court affirmed a ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade, which upheld the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported steel. “While disappointed, we […]
The coronavirus has begun to affect business in the United States, according to the latest Federal Reserve “Beige Book.” The economy is moving forward at a modest to moderate pace, but growth is uneven. The virus appears to be negatively impacting travel and tourism in the U.S., which showed only moderate to flat growth in […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook Two pieces of news have led us to lower our global forecasts for 2020. First, disruptions caused by the Covid-19 epidemic are expected to lead to a sharp downturn in near-term global growth, followed by a sharp recovery later in the year. […]
Lourenco Goncalves is well known for speaking his mind. As an unconventional thinker and investor, he has put himself, and his company, at the center of the changes that are transforming the steel industry—and not for the first time in his career. The Chairman, President and CEO of Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., will be a keynote speaker […]