Steel Market Update is a member of an association connected to the construction industry called HARDI, which stands for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International. HARDI and economic forecasting company ITR Economics work together to gather economic data to provide a forecast to the HARDI members in the United States and Canada. The information shared […]
China’s economy continues to show robust growth, and in August recorded its highest-ever share of total global steel production. Once each quarter, we publish the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed asset investment. Currently available data is through the third quarter. Many analysts don’t believe these self-serving Party figures, […]
SMU Note–The Kobe Steel scandal regarding falsifying test certifications has had a ripple effect. Steel Market Update asked those responding to our flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire if the Kobe scandal is raising some concerns that other mills may cut corners with testing and falsify documentation. Twenty-nine percent of our respondents had concerns. From […]
Two popular appliance manufacturers, Samsung and LG, are facing potential quotas and tariffs on imports of their products to the United States. Earlier this month, following a global safeguard petition by Whirlpool, the U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously in a Section 201 investigation that a surge of large residential washer (LRW) imports was injuring […]
On Tuesday of this week, ArcelorMittal USA announced new “minimum” base pricing on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products. On Wednesday, Nucor and North Star BlueScope followed with increase announcements of their own of $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt). This morning (Thursday), NLMK USA emailed a letter to their customers advising of their intention to […]
On Monday of this week, Steel Market Update began collecting data for our mid-October flat rolled steel market trends analysis. We invited over 600 companies to participate in our questionnaire. The vast majority of the respondents are either service centers or manufacturing companies. Based on the data collected we found that prior to any of […]
Does the Kobe Steel scandal raise the question that other steel mills, including those in the United States, might cut corners with testing and falsifying documentation? About 70 percent of buyers and sellers of steel responding to Steel Market Update’s flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire this week say no, they remain confident about the […]
The next Steel 101 steel training workshop will be held in Mobile, Ala., and will include a tour of the SSAB Mobile minimill. Registration is open, and the workshop currently is almost half full. “SMU Steel 101 is a great learning tool for anyone working in the steel industry in any position. I wish I […]
The American Automotive Policy Council is challenging data that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross cited in his bid to raise the NAFTA auto rules of origin. In a September report, Ross used data from 1995 to 2011 in an effort to “debunk the claim that U.S. content in the form of parts is so high that […]
Manufacturing activity in New York State has accelerated with the headline index of the October Empire State Manufacturing Survey climbing six points to 30.2. The survey was at its highest level in three years, bolstered by an 11-point gain in shipments, putting that index at 27.5. The new orders index slipped seven points, but was […]
It’s on the table: the U.S. proposal for rules of origin for NAFTA automobiles. On Friday, the Trump administration made its demand for 50 percent U.S. content in NAFTA-produced cars and trucks and an increase of North American content from 65.2 percent to 85 percent. The increase for U.S. content would be made within the […]
U.S. employment contracted in September, and there was more going on than just hurricanes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) net job creation report released on Friday was very disappointing for more reasons than the impact of hurricanes, though they undoubtedly had a big effect. Net job creation in September was negative 33,000 positions. July […]
Responses to several subjects in last week’s Steel Market Update flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire shared a common thread. Comments on demand, pricing, purchases of foreign steel and inventory levels all tended to reflect a bearish attitude among many flat rolled and steel plate service center executives. · On the subject of steel demand, […]
The Steel Manufacturers Association is still confident that the Section 232 investigation on steel imports will bring relief to the U.S. steel industry. SMA President Philip Bell called the investigation a “really complex issue,” during a media call on Monday. Although the administration issued a self-imposed deadline of June 30, which it failed to meet, […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and wholly-owned subsidiary Diamond Manufacturing Co. announced the acquisition of Ferguson Perforating Co., effective Oct. 2. Los Angeles-based Reliance is the largest service center company in North America. Ferguson specializes in producing highly engineered and complex perforated metal for diverse end markets ranging from aerospace and automotive to industrial machinery, […]
Over the course of the first four days of this past week (the week of Oct. 2, 2017), Steel Market Update conducted our early October flat rolled steel market trends analysis. One of the areas we track is how steel service centers are handling spot prices on flat rolled steel being sold to their customers. […]
Steel buyers and sellers appear evenly split on whether the renegotiation of NAFTA will benefit their companies. Responses to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire, emailed to several hundred steel executives earlier this week, suggests that most companies don’t really know if the new NAFTA being pursued by the Trump administration will be good for […]
NAFTA negotiations are about to get even more contentious with a proposal by the Trump administration to increase U.S. domestic content in autos to 50 percent. The administration also proposes increasing the NAFTA regional content requirement to 85 percent from the current 62.5 percent, said sources to Inside U.S. Trade. The administration is facing tough […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets 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 […]
Steel mills are even more open to price discussions than they were a couple weeks ago, which may be a reflection of weakening prices, say steel buyers who replied to Steel Market Update’s latest flat rolled market trends questionnaire. More than 100 executives responded to this week’s questionnaire. Steel buyers’ perceptions of their suppliers’ attitudes […]
Total construction expenditures contracted in the three months through August year over year for the first time since November 2011, according to August data for construction put in place (CPIP) released by the Department of Commerce on Monday. Privately funded projects still have positive growth on a rolling 12-month basis, but are more than negated […]
Manufacturing expanded in the United States, along with the overall economy, as the Institute for Supply Management’s September PMI jumped 2 percentage points to register 60.8 percent. ISM’s New Orders Index gained 4.3 points. New orders have averaged 61.6 percent since December 2016, said Timothy R. Fiore, chairman of ISM’s Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Any […]
Global manufacturing stayed steady at a strong reading of 53.2 in September. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was unchanged from the August reading with consumer, intermediate and investment goods all signaling expansion. Production rose, driven by new orders and international trade volumes and bumping up employment for the month. Higher input costs pushed selling […]
The Associated General Contractors of America urged Congress and the Trump administration to include new spending as part of the tax reform proposal to reverse declining infrastructure investment. New investments will offset declining public sector demand and help boost overall economic activity, said AGC. “It is hard for American employers to be globally competitive when […]
The next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making and Market Fundamentals workshop will be held Jan. 24-25, 2018, in Mobile, Ala. The two-day workshop will include a tour of the SSAB minimill. The conference will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Mobile West. Our Steel 101 workshop has been well-received by the industry. Those […]
I am in Fort Wayne, Ind., along with members of my Steel 101 team, John Eckstein, Mario Briccetti, Steve Murphy, Steve Painter, Sandy Williams, as well as Tim Triplett who will be attending his first Steel 101 workshop. Over the next two days, we will be working with a large class of attendees and discussing […]
In its comments on President Trump’s “Buy America” executive order, California Steel Industries (CSI) makes a convincing case for steel companies that process slabs not “melted and poured” in the United States. In April, President Trump instructed all federal agencies to assess their compliance with Buy America/Buy American policies (which have an important distinction, as […]
Steel market indicators look good in the September data. Our view of the present situation is that 50 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance of them are within the band of historically normal. This was the same result as May and August. Along with September, these […]
Economic indicators of manufacturing activity are still healthy overall and portend well for the balance of this year. This report summarizes seven data sources that describe the state of manufacturing in the U.S. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, therefore will be brief in this summary. We […]
A sharp rise in the September Chicago Business Barometer indicates a strong fourth quarter for manufacturing. The Barometer rose to 65.2 from 58.9 in August for its second highest level in more than three years. The average reading for the third quarter was a solid 61.0, steady with the second quarter’s three-year high of 61.1. […]