Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers an update on the latest developments in Washington: • Circumvention—On Thursday, the Commerce Department issued its long-awaited final determination in an anticircumvention inquiry under the antidumping and countervailing duty laws of the United States. The issue was whether cold-rolled and corrosion-resistant (CORE) flat rolled steel […]
Steel demand has remained surprisingly strong in 2018, even as prices have escalated and trade disputes have made purchasing riskier. But Steel Market Update data suggests that demand may be weakening. SMU canvasses the flat rolled steel market every two weeks. A clear majority (62 percent) of the respondents to the May 14 questionnaire indicated […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic (USA) hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Foreign steel imports for May are trending toward a 2.3 million net ton month, based on the data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier this week. April imports were just shy 4.0 million net tons. In the graphic below, we are tracking the license rate for the first two weeks of a month […]
In its final determination in the Vietnam CORE anti-circumvention case, the Commerce Department ruled Thursday that imports of corrosion-resistant galvanized steel from Vietnam will still be subject to substantial antidumping and countervailing duties unless the importer can prove the substrate used in the production process was not sourced from China. “Commerce may face challenges to […]
In its final determination in the Vietnam CORE anti-circumvention case, the Commerce Department ruled Thursday that imports of corrosion-resistant galvanized steel from Vietnam will still be subject to substantial antidumping and countervailing duties unless the importer can prove the substrate used in the production process was not sourced from China. “Commerce may face challenges to […]
Lewis Leibowitz, a trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following update on trade issues in Washington affecting the steel industry: • Section 301 Hearing on Proposed Tariffs: On May 16, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office will kick off three days of hearings on the proposed Section 301 tariffs on China announced […]
Demand remains strong and prices for galvanized steel have begun to level off after rising for most of the year, which is positive news for the HVAC industry. However, a big decline in foreign imports could dramatically reduce the availability of coated steel later in the year. “In the fourth quarter, there could be quite […]
Steel prices are way up and likely to move even higher given events on the trade front. But, so far, they have not hurt demand in the HVAC sector, reported members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) on Tuesday during the trade association’s monthly steel conference call. John Packard, publisher of Steel […]
Demand remains strong in the HVAC sector despite the high steel prices, but distributors share an uncomfortable feeling that the favorable conditions may not last. “Business is good, and prices are high, but they are going to fall. When is anyone’s guess. You just have to try to protect yourself and have the least amount […]
Distributors of products for the HVAC sector expect prices for steel, especially galvanized, to drop in the coming weeks or months. Demand remains strong, they report, but they are keeping inventories lean in anticipation of declining prices. “There is a greater likelihood that prices will go down than go up. With the lead times being […]
Tinplate steel manufacturers received the backing of a bipartisan group of House members who urged the administration to exclude steel used for can manufacturing from Section 232 tariffs. In a letter dated May 10, Congress members implored Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross not to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel used exclusively for can manufacturing, citing […]
March was a strong month for both steel mill shipments and demand for rolled steel products, but this was partly a seasonal effect. This conclusion is based on Steel Market Update’s analysis of data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce. March was a good month for both […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update receive reports on imports with macro data broken down by product on the national level. SMU also provides reports that detail the import tonnage received by district of entry and source nation. This new report from SMU takes the analysis even further. Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) data, […]
Steel Market Update’s analysis of import market share for sheet, plate, long and tubular products and their 18 subcategories shows big disparities by product type. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through March and in 12 months through March for the four product groups and the 18 subcategories. Supply to […]
March apparent steel supply rose 13.2 percent over February to 9,935,479 net tons, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel exports. This is the […]
For steel producers, there’s a strong correlation between capacity utilization and profits. Steel Market Update tracks capacity utilization for both flat and long products and both have been on the upswing since early 2018, at least in part due to the effects of the Trump administration’s plans to impose tariffs on steel imports. From January […]
ArcelorMittal NAFTA posted sales of $4.8 billion for the first quarter of 2018, up 10.6 percent sequentially. Steel shipments increased 4.8 percent from the fourth quarter to 5.9 million metric tons driven by higher volume of flat products due to improved market fundamentals. Average selling price increased 3.5 percent for flat products and 9.1 percent […]
Manufacturers and fabricators report that business is good, but it’s certainly not easy. Steel Market Update has recruited a dynamic group of executives who will explore topics ranging from trade and tariffs to automation and logistics on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at SMU’s Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. The title of their panel is Manufacturing Forecast: […]
The California Energy Commission voted unanimously last week to require solar panels for new homes beginning in 2020. Included in the plan are new single-family homes, condos and apartment buildings up to three stories high. “Homes under the (new) standards will use about 50 percent less energy than those under the previous 2016 standards,” said […]
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 HR futures markets continue to adjust to the continually changing narrative on global trade. While flat rolled steel demand has remained […]
This analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products by district of entry and source country. Our intent is to describe in detail what is going on in a company’s immediate neighborhood and thus provide a negotiating advantage for Steel Market Update subscribers. Premium members will find reports here on our website […]
Thousands of manufacturers, big and small, have filed paperwork with the Commerce Department requesting that their products be exempted from the 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. Their argument is that their product must be imported because it is not produced in the United States in a sufficient […]
Thailand was granted a tariff exemption for steel pipe exports to the United States, but only on a shipment basis, said Wanchai Varavithya, deputy director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department. Said Wanchai, “Although the U.S. Department of Commerce has yet to grant a waiver on import tariffs for all shipments from Thailand, exporters […]
Members of Congress have asked the Commerce Department to clarify and improve the process by which manufacturers apply for exclusions from Section 232 tariffs for raw materials required to produce their products. The following is a statement from the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users commending the action and expressing concern over the use […]
Total rolled steel product imports in April were the highest since last June and semi-finished imports were the highest since October 2014 as offshore mills hurried to ship steel ahead of the tariffs that were expected to take effect May 1. Total rolled steel product imports in April were up by 17.0 percent from March’s […]
Lewis Leibowitz, a Washington trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, reports on announcements this past week on Trump administration tariff exemptions/quotas: • Argentina reached a quota agreement on steel, which means that imports from that country (mostly seamless pipe for energy use) will not pay the 25 percent tariff. They agreed to an annual […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our early May 2018 flat rolled and plate steel market trends survey. We sent invitations to 640 individuals representing approximately 620 companies mostly located in the United States and Canada. The purpose of our inquiries is to better follow various trends affecting the flat rolled and plate markets. We […]
Trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz has been gracious in offering our readers his take on trade issues on almost a daily basis. With the wide variety of trade issues confronting U.S. companies it is very difficult to stay on top of those that might affect your company, either today (such as Section 232 tariffs, AD/CVD duties) […]