Priefert Manufacturing Co. is one of hundreds that have applied for exclusions from U.S tariffs on steel products they can’t source domestically. Priefert’s experience, much like so many others, is a case study in frustration. Based in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, Priefert is both a service center and a manufacturer of ranching equipment. The company filed […]
The renegotiated NAFTA, now called USMCA (the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement), still needs to be ratified in Mexico, the United States and Canada, but it is generating a plethora of commentary, both supportive and cautious. The new deal reached late Sunday “provides certainty to financial markets and supports investment and job creation in our country,” said incoming […]
Despite moderating prices, the outlook for the U.S. steel market is generally favorable for 2019, reported Josh Spoores, CRU Principal Analyst for North America, during a CRU Webinar on Friday. The Trump administration’s Section 232 steel tariff has limited competition from steel imports this year. Steel sheet arrivals into the U.S. are down 12 percent […]
Ryerson Holding Corp., a processor and distributor of industrial metals, gave upbeat guidance for third-quarter results. The company expects revenue to increase in the third quarter in the range of $1.23 billion to $1.24 billion compared to $1.057 billion in the second quarter and $864 million in third-quarter 2017. Net income is anticipated to be […]
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce released preliminary steel import license data for August and updated license data for September. The latest August figure has total imports at just under three million net tons, less than 1 percent lower than July levels. Compared to our monthly averages, August preliminary data is 6 percent less […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: According to Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, “we are sort of out of time” to negotiate including Canada in a revised NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). There are a few sticking points […]
U.S. Steel seeks dismissal of a lawsuit which alleges that the much touted “Carnegie Way” was a “sham” based on “fabricated cost savings.” The plaintiffs’ suit against U.S. Steel alleges the company is guilty of deception, dissembling and fraud. A group of shareholders filed a class action suit for violations of the federal securities laws […]
U.S. tariffs on steel imports appear to be having the expected effect. Two-thirds of the way through a year when the economy and steel demand are booming, imports are down by double digits. Citing preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute reports that the United States imported 23,839,000 net tons of steel […]
I am back in my office after four very long days, mostly due to long and late flights to Minnesota, Pittsburgh and back to West Palm Beach. I will be in the office for most of the day on Friday should you need to reach me. I am off again on Sunday as I head […]
Support for the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports extends across party lines to a majority of voters, according to a recent survey sponsored by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a non-partisan partnership between American manufacturers and the United Steelworkers. The poll of 1,200 likely voters in the November election showed that 63 percent support […]
On Friday, Steel Market Update received a note from one of our readers asking why foreign steel import totals have not dropped. The domestic mills have won countless antidumping and countervailing duty suits against flat rolled and plate products. The president has placed 25 percent tariffs on steel, citing national security as the reason to […]
When looking at the last four years of import data, as well as the first seven months of data available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, we are seeing a reduction in most flat rolled products. Of the past four years, 2014 was by far the biggest year for foreign steel imports into the United […]
The following Trade Policy & Economic Briefing was authored by CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison Since March 2018, there has been a broad strengthening of the U.S. dollar. This has developed because of rising U.S. interest rates and strong U.S. economic growth, which is in relative contrast to continued, historically low Eurozone interest rates […]
The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has been treading water, albeit at optimistic levels, for the past six months. However, the attitudes of buyers and sellers about conditions in the steel market might be described as anywhere from cautious to tepid, judging by the comments provided in Steel Market Update’s latest Steel Buyers Sentiment Index […]
The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has been treading water, albeit at optimistic levels, for the past six months. However, the attitudes of buyers and sellers about conditions in the steel market might be described as anywhere from cautious to tepid, judging by the comments provided in Steel Market Update’s latest Steel Buyers Sentiment Index […]
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 HR spot market has continued to decline, however we have a bit of a divergence as the HR futures curve prices […]
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Commerce released license data for the month of September. Steel Market Update takes that data, turns it into a daily average and then uses that number to project where we see the trend taking the total by the end of the month. The past few months have been […]
The U.S. Court of International Trade has granted a request by the American Institute for International Steel for a three-judge panel to hear its challenge to the constitutionality of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. In a June 27 motion, AIIS argued that a three-judge panel is supported by a specific federal […]
Global economic expansion may have reached its peak as trade tensions pressure markets, says a new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD is projecting global GDP growth will settle at 3.7 percent in 2018 in its Interim Economic Outlook. “Amidst rising trade tensions and heightened trade policy uncertainty, global trade growth […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: A rather eventful few days on the tariff and legal fronts: Final list of $200 billion in trade value of imports from China: The USTR announced the final list (“list 3”) of $200 billion in […]
Distributors of products for the HVAC sector are keeping a tight rein on inventories as pricing for galvanized steel continues to weaken. The wholesalers are seeing pressure from customers postponing orders in anticipation of better prices down the road. “It appears customers are living hand to mouth, waiting to place any large orders until they […]
Earlier last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest foreign steel import license data for the months of August, and the new data for September. The August number suggests the month will come in around 3 million net tons, which is higher than July as well as the 3-month and 12-month moving averages. […]
Steel Market Update was speaking with one of the plate mills regarding their maintenance schedules and order books, which we reported on in Thursday evening’s issue of our SMU newsletter. During the conversation, there was a discussion about what was causing the tightness in the marketplace, and the mill mentioned the drastically lower plate imports […]
This analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source country. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about local import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis is to describe in detail what is going on in a […]
Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium-level content on flat rolled imports with Executive-level members. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, contact info@steelmarketupdate.com. This analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source country. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) […]
Each month, Steel Market Update produces an import analysis by region for two of the six flat rolled product groups (HRC, CRC, HGD, OMC, CTL plate and coiled plate). This month, we are focusing on plate products. The intent of these regional updates is to bridge the gap between our monthly licensed data summaries and […]
Each month, Steel Market Update produces an import analysis by region for two of the six flat rolled product groups (HRC, CRC, HGD, OMC, CTL plate and coiled plate). This month, we are focusing on plate products. The intent of these regional updates is to bridge the gap between our monthly licensed data summaries and […]
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 categories. SMU has now developed reports that drill down the HRC and CRC into product detail both nationally and for each district. We report […]
Both the plate mills and their customers are advising Steel Market Update that, unlike the hot rolled markets, the plate markets are hot and are expected to continue to be hot for some time to come. The plate mills continue to be on “controlled order entry” (allocation) and all of the mills are struggling to […]
U.S. steel exports in July totaled 655,937 net tons (595,057 metric tons), down 28.2 percent over June and down 18.7 percent from July 2017. This is the lowest total export figure seen since May 2009 when 627,968 tons were shipped out of the country. Prior to July, total exports had averaged around 875,000 tons the […]