By CRU Principal Analyst Justin Hughes and Senior Cost Economist Ross Cunningham, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The international oil markets have been under severe pressure since the outbreak of Covid-19 with the rapid destruction of crude oil and oil product demand. Despite attempts for coordinated supply-side action by major oil producing nations, including […]
John Packard is taking some time off… We hope you are benefiting from our series of SMU Community Chats. The idea is to help us all feel connected by getting together once a week for a short visit with an industry expert—and in a way with each other. It’s a chance to learn something valuable […]
Automakers are facing numerous challenges as they prepare to reopen manufacturing impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Already facing lower sales this year, the pandemic has shut down vehicle production and dealer sales, disrupted supply chains and drained finances for U.S. vehicle manufacturers, with troubling implications for their steel suppliers. Bernard Swiecki, senior automotive analyst at […]
SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors (davidfeldstein@rocktradingadvisors.com). In addition to market analysis, RTA provides price risk management not only for ferrous products, but also base metals, energy and interest rates. RTA also trains sales staff and creates the infrastructure necessary for firms to offer their customers fixed pricing on physical sales. […]
By John Packard and Tim Triplett Steel Market Update has been asked: How does the COVID-19 pandemic compare to the Great Recession, in terms of its impact on the steel market? The full effect of the coronavirus crisis on the U.S. economy and steel demand is still to play out, of course, but some comparisons […]
“The SDI team shines in moments of challenge,” said Steel Dynamics President and CEO Mark Millett. First-quarter results support that confidence as the company reported strong earnings for January-March despite the coronavirus pandemic. First-quarter net sales totaled $2.6 billion and net income $187 million, an improvement from Q4 2019 for both metrics. Selling price per ton […]
April 21, 2020 Dear Steel Market Update “Member”, Your business is important to Steel Market Update and our parent company The CRU Group. We know difficult times may lie ahead and we are here to support your business in any way we can. Steel Market Update began operations in August 2008. By the end of […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: I hope everyone had a peaceful and, above all, safe Easter and Passover holiday. If I missed any other celebrations over the last two weeks, I hope you will accept my apology and let me know about them. […]
Phil Raimondo, President & CEO of Behlen Manufacturing in Columbus, Neb., counts his state lucky for having less than a 1,000 people test positive for COVID-19. “Sometimes, with our businesses, we are frustrated with being a fly-over state, but with this virus, we are happy to be a fly-over state,” said Raimondo. Nebraska is one […]
Economic activity contracted “sharply and abruptly” last month, according to the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report. The report, covering activity through April 6, showed leisure and hospitality industries bearing the brunt of the decline. “All Districts reported highly uncertain outlooks among business contacts, with most expecting conditions to worsen in the next several months,” said […]
Active U.S. and Canadian drill rigs continued to decline this past week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The active drill rigs count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 73 to 529, with oil […]
JSW Steel USA will idle facilities and lay off workers at its plants in Mingo Junction, Ohio, and Baytown, Texas, in an effort to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and chaos in the oil and gas market on steel demand. The company said it will temporarily idle the hot rolling mill and EAF […]
JSW Steel USA will idle facilities and lay off workers at its plants in Mingo Junction, Ohio, and Baytown, Texas, in an effort to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and chaos in the oil and gas market on steel demand. The company said it will temporarily idle the hot rolling mill and EAF […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook Despite some volatility driven by divergent signs related to supply and demand expectations, iron ore prices were flat w/w. On Tuesday, April 21, the 62% Fe fines price was assessed at $86.0 /t. Last week, Chinese steel demand was robust as the country […]
Cleveland-Cliffs will temporarily idle Northshore Mining in Minnesota and Tilden Mine in Michigan due to current market conditions. The iron ore supplier plans to work down current inventory from the operations to fulfill its commercial agreements with steel customers. Demand is down at U.S. steel mills, with several adjusting production due to closures in the […]
2020 is NOT 2008 all over again… I vividly remember 2008 and what happened to the steel industry beginning in September of that year. Why? Because Steel Market Update began as a company in August 2008 and I was scrambling to get members, while at the same time reporting on the destruction of demand and […]
ArcelorMittal plans to idle the #3 blast furnace at Indiana Harbor in East Chicago, according to a report by the Northwest Indiana Times. A memo from USW Local 1010 President Steve Wagner to members stated that the company “has mandated that all employees with less than two years be laid off.” “This is not in […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
Executives from service centers and manufacturing companies report widespread order cancellations as customers scale back or shut down to stem the spread of COVID-19. Companies anticipate their sales will be off anywhere from 25-80 percent in April, compared with the same month last year. When will business start to return to normal? The most hopeful […]
Tubular steel producer Vallourec said Monday that it will lay off more than 900 employees at its U.S. plants due to a significant drop in activity by its oil and gas customers. The layoffs will be implemented in the coming weeks across all plants and support functions and impact over one-third of Vallourec’s workforce and contractor […]
By CRU Senior Cost Analyst Ross Cunningham, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Covid-19 has spread across the world at alarming rates. As of March 28, the pandemic has reached 177 countries and shows little sign of letting up. When fighting a global health and economic crisis unlike anything ever seen before, there will be no winners—only […]
Steel Market Update’s monthly analysis of Key Market Indicators has done a good job of anticipating the ups and downs of the steel market in the past, but the economic data currently available seriously lags the impact of the coronavirus on the economy. Only 3 of 36 indicators in this month’s report have even begun […]
We’re all saturated with news of the employment disaster caused by the coronavirus, but to look at the long-term picture graphically is still shocking. Figure 1 shows the three-month moving average (3MMA) of the number of jobs created or lost through April since 2005 as the brown bars and the total number employed as the […]
CRU is forecasting that North American steel sheet prices will find a bottom sometime this summer, but will remain volatile while supply and demand gradually rebalance as the coronavirus crisis subsides. CRU projects steel consumption will decline by 22 percent this year as a result of virus-related shutdowns in automotive and other key manufacturing industries. […]
Schnitzer Steel Industries, a metals recycler and long products producer, posted revenue of $439 million for the second quarter of FY 2020. Net income was $4.5 million for the quarter, improving from a $7 million loss in Q1 but down significantly from income of $13 million in Q2 2019. Autos and Metals Recycling achieved operating […]
SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors (davidfeldstein@rocktradingadvisors.com). In addition to market analysis, RTA provides price risk management not only for ferrous products, but also base metals, energy and interest rates. RTA also trains sales staff and creates the infrastructure necessary for firms to offer their customers fixed pricing on physical sales. […]
A sharp decline in new orders and production drove the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI into contraction in March, falling to 49.1 from February’s reading of 50.1 percent. “The coronavirus pandemic and shocks in global energy markets have impacted all manufacturing sectors,” said Timothy Fiore, chairman of the Institute for Supply Management. New orders […]
Today we took our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled steel to Lower from Neutral. We are clearly seeing an erosion in pricing, which is expected to continue over the near term. The economy is heading into recession. Key indicators are pointing toward a slowdown in construction as states and local municipalities mandate construction projects […]
Today we took our Price Momentum Indicator on flat rolled steel to Lower from Neutral. We are clearly seeing an erosion in pricing, which is expected to continue over the near term. The economy is heading into recession. Key indicators are pointing toward a slowdown in construction as states and local municipalities mandate construction projects […]
Active U.S. and Canadian drill rigs declined this past week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The active drill rigs count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 44 to 728, with oil rigs down […]