Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to feel very good about their company’s prospects both in the existing market as well as looking out three to six months into the future. Steel Market Update (SMU) is of the opinion buyer optimism is connected to rising steel prices around the world which improves the […]
Steel buyers need to be aware that there has been a jump in iron ore spot pricing in China over the past 48 hours. The Steel Index (TSI) reported 62% Fe fines into the port of Tianjin, China at $64.3/dmt (dry metric ton) up 4 percent from the previous day. This same item is up […]
The United Steelworkers filed a petition this week under Section 201 of U.S. trade law to attempt stem imports of primary unwrought aluminum. We are reporting on this because a number of companies/organizations having begun calling for the use of Section 201 to help stem unwanted steel imports (see article in tonight’s newsletter written by […]
Both these data points are reported in the Federal Reserve G17 data base. This month the historical data has been revised and we have updated our files back to January 2000. The index had an all-time high of 106.40 in January 2015 but on a month over month basis has declined for 13 of the […]
One of the issues confusing the sheet (flat rolled steel) marketplace is the Raw Steel Production report produced by the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI). This report is produced on a weekly and then again on a monthly basis. The weekly report is released every Monday afternoon and Steel Market Update publishes the data […]
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey reached its highest level in more than a year in April. The headline general business index rose 9 points to 9.6, continuing a second positive month with respondents reporting business conditions have improved. New orders picked up two points to register 11.1 after making strong gains in March. Shipments continued […]
Manufacturing companies are questioning the run up in steel prices with some wondering if now is a good time to pull back and wait out the market. SMU, with the help of a few of our manufacturing and service center sources, will try to put a historical perspective into the market in an effort to […]
The global steel industry situation and its impact on U.S. steel industry is the topic of discussion this week at hearings held by the United States Trade Representative and Department of Commerce in Washington DC. Representatives from the steel industry, manufacturing, mining and Congress are giving their opinions and suggestions during three days of hearings, […]
The surge in steel imports is a threat to national security according to a new paper released by the Alliance for American Manufacturing. AAM says steel is essential to national security, as it equips the military and builds infrastructure. The report’s findings were commented on at the Congressional Steel Caucus this week. “Steel from Northwest […]
“Antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) measures are unable to fix the low-price problem afflicting U.S. steel producers because they amount to no more than a band-aid that can’t heal the wound.” That is the opinion of Daniel R. Pearson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Steife Center for Trade Policy Studies. With […]
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she will crack down on Chinese steel dumping if elected president. Clinton vowed to triple the number of trade enforcement officials, pursue countervailing duties on subsidized imports, confront currency manipulation and appoint a new trade prosecutor that reports directly to the president. Chinese steelmaking overcapacity continues to be a […]
The Association of Steel Distributors (ASD), which in March celebrated its 73rd anniversary, swore in Andrew (Andy) Gross, President & CEO of Alliance Steel as the new President of the ASD during its spring meeting held in Naples, Florida earlier this month. The new ASD president told SMU that he wants to expand the exposure […]
Manufacturing companies were almost unanimous when asked what service centers were doing with prices to them right now. Eighty one percent of the manufacturing companies responding to our survey reported distributors as raising prices. As you can see by the graphic below this is a tremendous change in price direction and market pricing momentum. It […]
Each month the Commerce Department issues its Construction Put in Place (CPIP) data, usually on the first working day covering activity two months earlier. February data was released on Friday April 1st. Construction Put in Place is based on spending work as it occurs, estimated for a given month from a sample of projects. In […]
Based on our analysis of the most recent flat rolled steel market trends survey conducted by Steel Market Update this week, we continue to find buyers and sellers of steel being very optimistic. The current market index improved to +70 which is the highest (most optimistic) number ever recorded by our Sentiment Index going back […]
On Friday and Saturday of this past week, Steel Market Update attended the Association of Steel Distributors spring meeting. The following are some of the notes made during the presentations and during discussions with ASD members. Dr. Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence reported that he is “a little optimistic” when it comes to the […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has acquired custom sheet metal fabricator Best Manufacturing as of April 1, 2016. The company will operate as wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance with current management remaining in place. Headquartered in Jones Arkansas, Best Manufacturing provides various precision fabrication services including laser cutting, shearing, CNC punching, CNC forming and rolling, as […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has acquired custom sheet metal fabricator Best Manufacturing as of April 1, 2016. The company will operate as wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance with current management remaining in place. Headquartered in Jones Arkansas, Best Manufacturing provides various precision fabrication services including laser cutting, shearing, CNC punching, CNC forming and rolling, as […]
A new rule from OSHA takes aim at exposure to crystalline silica. Crystalline silica exposure is a serious health hazard affecting approximately 2 million construction workers and 300,000 general industry workers in the U.S., according to estimates by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Crystalline silica exposure occurs when construction workers drill, cut, crush, or […]
NLMK USA was the first mill to raise prices, going up $40 per ton. I am hearing comments from both sides on whether the price increases are a good or bad thing. My personal opinion is prices got a little “over-done” last year and dropped too low. A hot rolled number closer to $500 may […]
In what is hoped to be good news for the steel industry, manufacturing as measured by the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business expanded for the first time in six months. The PMI, or Purchasing Managers Index, increased 2.3 percentage points to register 51.8 from a reading of 49.5, indicating expansion in manufacturing and the […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered in this analysis is currently 34. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. Readers should […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday in their analysis of non-farm employment that 215,000 jobs were added in March, down from 245,000 in February but up from 168,000 in January. January and February were revised down by a total of 1,000. An explanation of the BLS report is included at the end […]
Nucor plans to invest $4.4 million in its Decatur steel manufacturing plant to upgrade the hot metal pickle line. On Monday, the Decatur Industrial Development Board approved an abatement of about $117,545 in non-educational state, city and county taxes over a 10-year period for the project. “We appreciate Nucor’s continued investment in their Decatur operations […]
Tata Steel announced yesterday that it will consider selling off all of its British operations. In a review of its UK operations, the Tata Steel Board concluded that due to deteriorating financial performance in the past twelve months the company will “explore all options for portfolio restructuring including the potential divestment of Tata Steel UK, […]
Members of the Precision Metalforming Association are expecting business conditions to falter a bit during the next three months. The March PMA Business Conditions Report indicated a minor downward trend with 25 percent of participants predicting that economic activity will improve in the next three months (down from 30 percent in February), 59 percent expecting […]
SMU still has a number of open spots available for our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop. The workshop will be held just outside of Toledo, Ohio as part of our program will be a tour of one of the most successful flat rolled mini-mills in the United States, the […]
Flat rolled steel pricing momentum is clearly on the side of the domestic steel mills. You have a number of the integrated mills essentially out of the spot markets and lead times are extended. Even hot rolled lead times are moving out despite weakness in the energy markets. SMU Price Momentum Indicator continues to point […]
Orders for durable goods fell 2.8 percent in February for the third decline in four months. The latest report from the Commerce Department shows transportation equipment leading the decrease, down 1.2 percent last month. Civilian aircraft orders plunged 27.1 percent leading the transportation equipment descent. Inventories continued to decrease as manufacturers struggle to bring inventories […]
Orders for durable goods fell 2.8 percent in February for the third decline in four months. The latest report from the Commerce Department shows transportation equipment leading the decrease, down 1.2 percent last month. Civilian aircraft orders plunged 27.1 percent leading the transportation equipment descent. Inventories continued to decrease as manufacturers struggle to bring inventories […]