By CRU North America Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 7.9 percent m/m to 211.1 (see chart) following price increases in nearly every market. Pervasive market tightness caused by adverse weather and higher domestic demand in major exporting markets forced buyers in import-reliant markets to accept higher […]
What’s ahead for the scrap market in 2020? Ben Abrams, president and CEO of Consolidated Scrap Resources, Inc., in York, Pa., offers the following prognostication: It’s always difficult to predict what will happen to ferrous scrap prices even a few months ahead of time, let alone for the full year, because the ferrous market is […]
What’s ahead for the scrap market in 2020? Ben Abrams, president and CEO of Consolidated Scrap Resources, Inc., in York, Pa., offers the following prognostication: It’s always difficult to predict what will happen to ferrous scrap prices even a few months ahead of time, let alone for the full year, because the ferrous market is […]
Changes may be coming for two joint ventures held by Brazilian mining giant Vale, including California Steel Industries. Vale is looking to trim costs as it continues to make reparations stemming from the Brumadinho tailings dam collapse that took 270 lives and caused major environmental damage to the region. At Vale Day on Dec. 2 […]
This Steel Market Update report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories. Since January, there has only been one month when the import market share of total sheet products exceeded 15 percent. The import share of HRC has been below 10 percent since January. The most striking result […]
October apparent steel supply remained steady at 8.7 million net tons, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute and U.S. Department of Commerce. October supply is the second lowest level seen in the last 23 months, with the lowest occuring the month prior. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is determined […]
CNBC reported comments made by White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow on Tuesday saying, “The reality is those tariffs are still on the table.” This is in reference to the tweet from President Trump regarding steel from Brazil and Argentina. Steel buyers should be aware that there has not been a presidential proclamation, or anything […]
Total steel imports into the United States are trending toward 2.5 million tons in December, which would be up dramatically over November and higher than the 12-month average. However, imports of semifinished steels, some of which are subject to quota restrictions, are likely to come in well under the current trend of 1.1 million tons. […]
The mills have succeeded in collecting a portion of their recent price increases, but how much and for how long? Steel Market Update canvassed buyers this week and opinions varied widely. Flat rolled producers raised prices by a total of $110 per ton in three rounds of announcements during October and November. Steel Market Update […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: I have received questions from several people about the ins and outs of product exclusions. I thought I’d give a brief summary of the subject and the opportunities and the problems that may arise. Section 301 (China) Product […]
By CRU Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Long Products Monitor Steel longs prices have changed direction this month with rises now observed in many markets. Although underlying demand has improved in some regions it is still weak elsewhere. Buyers in many regions have restocked in the last month while producers exposed to scrap and […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service This piece sets out insights gained from a visit to CRUs Beijing office. The trade war has been an unexpected headwind to China’s economy and there is a real concern about the risks of a sharper than desirable growth slowdown. In response the government […]
In the spirit of the season, Keith Gunter of McElroy Metal offers the following poetic look back at the year in steel: ‘Twas almost Christmas and all through the land, Steel increases were announced but will they all stand? Buyers are wary as steel mills try to pounce, Is this for real, or just […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel The U.S. Midwest HR futures curve in Cal’20 has had a strong move higher from the beginning of November with an […]
Editor’s note: President Trump’s surprise decision to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Argentina and Brazil stunned the industry and leaves many questions unanswered. Paul Nathanson, executive director of the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU), addressed the issue in the following op-ed: President Trump announced via tweet on Monday that […]
November’s licensed import volume of total rolled steel products was the lowest since February 2010. Year over year, total rolled product imports in November were down by 27.4 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 17.7 percent decrease in October and 15.5 percent decline in September on the same basis. This […]
John Packard is traveling…. With President Trump making more headlines this week with his tweet calling for new tariffs on steel from Brazil and Argentina, the timing seems right to ask the question: Have the Section 232 tariffs helped your business? Your industry? Your country? Obviously, that depends entirely on the criteria each individual selects […]
Manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted at a faster rate in November, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI registered a 0.2 point decline for a reading of 48.1 percent and its fourth straight month in contraction. Most of the components of the PMI remained in contraction last month. Production, at […]
President Trump stunned the market with an early-morning tweet Monday calling for new Section 232 tariffs on steel imports from Brazil and Argentina, which he accused of currency manipulation. No word yet on whether the White House will make the tariffs official, or even if they would be legal. But the prospect of higher priced […]
This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has reported in detail during the month. It summarizes 36 data streams that describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance for steel buyers and sellers. See the end of this piece for an explanation of the Key Indicators […]
U.S. gross domestic product had positive growth in every region of the country in each of the first two quarters of 2019, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data. The BEA reports GDP by state and region on a quarterly basis. This data is released several weeks after the national report. The latest data was […]
Editor’s note: The following commentary in support of the Trump administration steel tariffs was contributed by Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, the largest steel pipe and tube manufacturer in North America. We often hear that the Trump administration’s steel tariffs are hurting the U.S. economy. News commentators certainly think so. They talk […]
Steel buyers’ sentiment has been trending up for the last six weeks along with steel prices, which is a positive development. But like the prices, sentiment has yet to really take off and prove it has sustained strength, according to Steel Market Update’s latest Steel Buyer’s Sentiment Index. The goal of the index is to […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: As the Section 232 tariffs continue, their market effects continue to pile up. The tariffs cause effects on investment and employment, both for steel producers and their customers. Tariffs reduce imports of steel, for example, but they increase […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: As the Section 232 tariffs continue, their market effects continue to pile up. The tariffs cause effects on investment and employment, both for steel producers and their customers. Tariffs reduce imports of steel, for example, but they increase […]
Steel buyers are clearly split on whether demand is sufficient to support the recent mill price increases or whether the market can expect another dead cat bounce. Following are results from this week’s Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire.(Note that the following responses were gathered prior to the mill price increase announcements on Friday.) Dead […]
Metalforming companies reported continued weakness in the market in the latest survey by the Precision Metalforming Association. The PMA November 2019 Business Conditions Report showed 34 percent of participants expect a decline in economic activity and 51 percent expect no change. “The November PMA Business Conditions Report showed little change from the previous month. Metalforming […]
The U.S. dollar has weakened against 11 of the 16 steel trading nation currencies in the last three months. In this report we examine the change in currency values of the 16 preeminent global steel and iron ore trading nations. The currencies of these 16 don’t necessarily follow the Broad Index value of the U.S, […]
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 taken the import tonnage of cold rolled sheet and broken it down into coil and leveled; then it breaks out four thickness ranges and identifies how much was full hard, annealed and high strength. Through September 2019, of the total cold rolled sheet and […]