I expect the next seven days will be quite hectic in my life and those of our SMU team as we make final preparations for the 2016 Steel Summit Conference. I will actually be traveling to Georgia on Wednesday and will work from there until the conference has concluded. We do have a few spots […]
In our last issue of Steel Market Update we wrote about lead times shrinking as being one of the reasons why we adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator. We cited published lead times by NLMK USA and Nucor Berkeley as examples of the changes we were seeing and discussing with steel buyers. This week we conducted […]
For the past nine weeks, Steel Market Update (SMU) has had our Price Momentum Indicator at Neutral. A neutral rating means the market is either in transition or does not have enough momentum to push steel prices in one direction or another. Earlier today SMU adjusted our indicator to “Lower” from Neutral which is a […]
Steel Market Update speaks with dozens of companies on a daily basis and hundreds over the course of a week. We also receive a large number of emails, facebook and LinkedIn posts. Every so often we like to share some of the comments being made in an article we call “Bits ‘N Pieces.” We learned […]
As we moved about the market speaking to buyers of flat rolled steel, we found ourselves immersed in a dialogue about demand now being the major driver of steel prices moving forward. SMU spoke with a number of very large flat rolled steel service center buyers who told us that demand is “fragmented” and there […]
I did trade emails with trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz regarding the International Trade Commission (ITC) commissioners. I wanted to know if the new president of the United States could make wholesale changes with the commissioners and change the balance of the rulings being made on steel trade cases and others. Mr. Leibowitz told us, “The […]
There were some surprises on Friday afternoon when the U.S. Department of Commerce came out with their final determinations regarding antidumping and countervailing duties on hot rolled steel. Perhaps the biggest surprise was saved for POSCO out of Korea and the joint venture partner with US Steel on USS/POSCO mill in California. The UPI mill […]
Buyers and sellers of hot rolled steel are holding back on making any new offers (buy or sell) until the final determinations are announced on HRC later this week. According to Steel Market Update sources, hot rolled steel spot prices were ranging from a low of $590 per ton up to $630 per ton. Lead […]
Initial reports coming out of the financial community are suggesting ferrous scrap prices could be down $5 to $15 per ton once the August negotiations between the steel mills and their suppliers get under way. The expectation that the prime grades will be hit after spending a couple of months moving sideways. However, not all […]
CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 20, 2016 — Nucor Corporation announced today that it has agreed to acquire Joy Global’s steel plate mill in Longview, Texas, for approximately $29 million. The mill produces carbon and alloy plate products with heat-treating capabilities and has an annual capacity of 180,000 tons. “This acquisition builds on our strategy to capture […]
We released our SMU Events App on Tuesday morning. On Wednesday I received a text from one of our registered attendees, “Hey, your app is pretty good John. Is there a quantity discount on additional sign ups?” First, thank you for the vote of confidence. I thought our App went over pretty well last year […]
As reported last week, obsolete grades of ferrous scrap came under price pressure as negotiations concluded for July deliveries. Prime grades, however, saw prices move sideways as the spread between shredded scrap and primes increased. The product that saw the most movement was shredded due to excessive inventories and little movement on the export front […]
Galvanized steels continue to see strong bookings at the domestic steel mills with August sold out at all but SDI, The Techs and Wheeling Nisshin according to SMU sources. One of the domestic mills told Steel Market Update earlier this week that coated products were on “autopilot” as bookings remain strong and they were not […]
Leaders in the steel industry reacted favorably to Friday’s affirmative decision by the International Trade Commission (ITC)’s regarding injury to the industry resulting from the import of corrosion-resistant steel from China, India, Italy, Korea, and Taiwan. Mario Longhi, President and CEO, US Steel Corp.: “United States Steel Corporation is pleased with the International Trade Commission’s […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced today (June 22, 2016) that it finds that unfairly priced and subsidized imports of cold-rolled steel flat products from China and Japan have hurt U.S. steel producers. All six commissioners voted in the affirmative. As a result, the antidumping and countervailing duties determined by the DOC in their […]
We purposely did not begin this article on where our sources are seeing ferrous scrap prices with an attention grabbing headline as we think readers would be confused. The confusion comes from the pressure the domestic steel mills are expected to put on obsolete grades, like shredded scrap and HMS (heavy melt scrap). Those of […]
Nucor Corporation says flat rolled-trade cases are having a positive impact on reducing steel imports. The expectation is that final determinations in all three flat rolled cases will result in higher duties than currently being collected from the preliminary decisions. Second quarter results are expected to be significantly improved from first quarter due to higher […]
To everyone who was in New York City for the Steel Success Strategies conference or other meetings surrounding the conference, welcome home. I was quite pleased to hear that our Steel Summit Conference was being discussed in the halls and streets of New York. If everyone who told me they (or their company) were coming […]
Nucor Corp. and JFE Holdings of Japan will enter a joint venture to build and operate a steel processing plant in central Mexico to supply the country’s automotive market. The 50-50 venture will cost $270 million to construct and have a capacity of 400,000 tons per year of galvanized sheet steel. The substrate for processing […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Nucor Corp against Big River Steel. The suit charged that the Big River Steel permit air permit was invalid and the continued construction of the mill violated the Clean Air Act. The district court dismissed the lawsuit for “lack […]
Steel Technologies LLC plans to invest $18 million in a new processing facility in Smyrna, Tennessee. The 83,000 square foot facility will create 50 new jobs and handle both steel and aluminum sheet. “This new greenfield operation expands our exposed and unexposed automotive slitting and blanking capabilities,” Steel Technologies Vice President of Operations Randall Patterson […]
For many years, SMU publisher John Packard sold ultra light gauge galvanized steels (.019”-.010”) into the furnace pipe manufacturers across the United States and Canada. This product is one that is not championed by the domestic steel industry as the domestic steel mills would rather run thicker steels (more tonnage per hour through their mills) […]
The following article was written by Lisa Reisman, Managing Director and CEO Of Azul Partners, Inc., on May 24, 2016 and is reprinted with permission of MetalMiner: Jennifer Diggins is the director of Government Affairs at Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp., the largest steelmaker in the U.S. and North America’s largest recycler of any material (Nucor […]
Steel Market Update received a note from trade attorney Lewis E. Leibowitz regarding an “ex parte” memorandum from former Michigan Governor and current President of the Business Rountable, John Engler, about the AD investigation of imports of cold rolled steel from Japan. Mr. Engler was intervening on behalf of Steelcase and their subsidiary PolyVision which […]
We tend to see the various steel indexes become more “in tune” with one another once the steel mills decide to take a wait and see attitude about the market. Over the past few weeks, U.S. steel mills have (once again) managed to expand the spread between U.S. steel prices and those of foreign steel […]
Today, the Department of Commerce announced its affirmative final determinations in the AD investigations of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products (cold-rolled steel) from China and Japan, and CVD investigation of imports of cold-rolled steel from China. Commerce determined imports of cold-rolled steel from China and Japan have been sold in the U.S. at […]
The Nucor Plate Group and SSAB have both raised plate prices by a minimum of $40 per ton. The SSAB increase applies to all non-contract business on rolled mill plate, cut-to-length plate as well as hot rolled coils greater than 72″ in width. The SSAB increase includes normalized as well as quench-and-temper plate. Nucor was […]
On May 17, 2016, the Department of Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determinations in the AD investigations of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products from China and Japan and CVD investigation of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products from China. The investigations cover certain cold-rolled, flat-rolled, steel products, neither clad, plated, […]
Auto/Steel Partnership – May 11, 2016 — In an effort to assist automakers in meeting stringent fuel economy requirements, the Auto/Steel Partnership (A/SP) announced today the Hemming of Thin Gauge Advanced High-Strength Steel (AHSS) project achieved a 30 percent weight savings using thinner gauge AHSS for automotive closure panels. “The Hemming team achieved positive results […]
Nucor Corp. announced today that it will expand its Vulcraft/Verco Group into Canada. The new production facility, Vulcraft Canada, Inc., will be located near Hamilton, Ontario and will serve the Central and Eastern markets. The facility will produce steel joists, joist girders, and decking. Product fabrication is expected to begin later this year. “We are […]