As our regular readers know, Steel Market Update projects imports of foreign flat rolled sheet, plate and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) as well as semi-finished (mostly slabs) steels for the month in progress. The projection is based on U.S. Department of Commerce license data which can be misleading and our projection should also be […]
Each month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out its series of producer price indexes for thousands of goods and materials. The latest release on Friday reported February results. These statistics are a useful way to evaluate any changes in the competitive position of steel against competing materials. See below for the official description […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 14th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,809 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 17 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 18 to 1,461 rigs, gas rigs down 1 to 344 rigs, […]
The The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) released January shipment data for water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners. Residential Storage Water Heaters U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for January 2014 increased 2.2 percent, to 370,850 units, up from 363,004 units shipped in January 2013. Residential electric storage water heater shipments increased 7.3 […]
Steel Market Update has been aware for awhile that at least one, and probably more than one, domestic steel mill has been trying to convince the rest of the industry to support dumping suits on coated products. This would most likely include galvanized and Galvalume steels. The countries being mentioned include China, India, Taiwan and […]
The rumor mill has been buzzing for a number of months about the potential for flat rolled steel dumping suits on galvanized and Galvalume steels. The focus of attention seems to be on China, India, Taiwan and South Korea as being the major offenders. However, Steel Market Update, which has a long background in coated […]
Key Banc recently published its report entitled “The Industrial Cycle: Monthly Update on Key End Markets.” The following is a summary of findings from report that SMU readers may find interesting. Key Banc says the outlook for industrial activity remains positive for 2014. After a dismal performance in January affected by weather conditions, activity rebounded […]
Total steel imports in January were 3,205,246 net tons (NT), the highest levels Steel Market Update has recorded since we began keeping track of monthly import data in mid-2009. January tonnage is a 27.9 percent increase over December figures and well above both the three month moving average (3MMA) and twelve month moving average (12MMA). […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 7th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,792 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is an increase of 23 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 13 to 1,443 rigs, gas rigs up 10 to 345 rigs, […]
During the fourth week of February Steel Market Update conducted our third monthly forecast projecting the number of foreign imports due into the United States during the month of February. What Steel Market Update does each week (except the first week of the month) is to review the U.S. Department of Commerce import license data […]
The US Department of Commerce said it will maintain anti-dumping and countervailing duties on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) imported from China, in announcement made earlier this month (February). The recent decision closed loopholes in the 2009 AD/CV duties imposed by the International Trade Commission, which allowed pipe made in China but finished in other […]
The following article was written by steel industry consultant and contributor to Steel Market Update, Paul Lowrey. Mr. Lowrey owns a consulting company called Steel Research Associated, LLC which works with steel mills and large distributors or manufacturing companies involved with steel and steel products. More information about Mr. Lowrey can be found in the […]
The following article was written by David Phelps, the recently retired director of the American Institute for International Steel and now a contributing writer for Steel Market Update. You can find more information about Mr. Phelps in the About Us section of our website. On February 18th, the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration shocked […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce recently released updated import statistics including preliminary January figures. According to the latest data, total steel imports in January were 3,172,481 net tons (NT), up 26.6 percent compared to the 2,506,795 NT imported in December. Total February imports are projected to be 3,012,761 NT, a 5.0 percent decrease over January. […]
According to Baker Hughes data from February 28th, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,769 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 2 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 5 to 1,430 rigs, gas rigs down 7 to 335 rigs, […]
US Steel says it will lay off workers at its Lorain Tubular Operations. The number of affected employees and timeline has not yet been announced. The statement from US Steel regarding the layoffs is as follows: “We continually review and analyze business conditions and the impact they have on our customers. As a result of […]
This is the fourth week in February and our third forecast regarding foreign imports into the United States. What Steel Market Update does each week (except the first week of the month) is to review the U.S. Department of Commerce import license data and then, based on the most recent numbers, project import levels by […]
The US is experiencing a revolution in the oil and gas markets. The spot price of natural gas delivered to the Henry Hub in Louisiana has risen by 50 percent since January 10th and was $6.55 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) on Wednesday, February 19. This is the highest spot price in over five […]
The Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count is a weekly census of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the United States and Canada. Rigs are considered active from the time they break ground until the time they reach their target depth and may be establishing […]
The following article was written by David Phelps, the recently retired director of the American Institute for International Steel and now a contributing writer for Steel Market Update. You can find more information about Mr. Phelps in the About Us section of our website. On February 18th, the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration shocked […]
The following article was written by steel industry consultant and contributor to Steel Market Update, Paul Lowrey. Mr. Lowrey owns a consulting company called Steel Research Associated, LLC which works with steel mills and large distributors or manufacturing companies involved with steel and steel products. More information about Mr. Lowrey can be found in the […]
The following article was written by Peter Brebach who is the owner of Iron Angels of Colorado a company which specializes in imports of pipe and tube and other steel products. You can find more information on Mr. Brebach on our website in the About Us section. Everybody I talked to was surprised by the […]
A Nebraska court ruled Wednesday that a law passed in 2011 improperly allowed Gov. Dave Heineman to give TransCanada eminent domain power to advance the Keystone XL pipeline project in Nebraska. The decision regarding eminent domain should have been made by the Nebraska Public Service Commission, ruled Lancaster Judge Stephanie Stacy. The 2011 law was […]
Gibraltar Industries is expecting 2014 growth to be driven mainly by the residential new construction and residential remodeling said the company in its earnings call on Feb. 20. “While we’re starting 2014 at a relatively slow pace given the cold and harsh weather in much of the country since the new year, we believe the […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Company reports fourth quarter 2013 sales for all products were $2.31 billion, up 22.1 percent from $1.89 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 and down 5.6 percent from $2.44 billion in the third quarter of 2013. Net income for the quarter was $61.8 million, compared to $95.1 million in third […]
The domestic steel mills and oil country tubular goods (OCTG) manufacturing companies which filed dumping cases against India, the Philippines, Saudia Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam are happy. However, the big fish – Korea – escaped with no duties being instituted. The U.S. Department of Commerce released affirmative preliminary determinations […]
It was a crazy day as all of the government data was not released until 5 PM ET or later – and there was a lot of it. Perhaps the most interesting is the US Department of Commerce “preliminary dumping margins” on oil country tubular goods. Maybe I should restate that – the most interesting […]
U.S. shipments of residential gas storage water heaters for December 2013 increased 10.4 percent, to 398,059 units, up from 360,568 units shipped in December 2012. Residential electric storage water heater shipments increased 7.2 percent in December 2013, to 348,872 units, up from 325,435 units shipped in December 2012. For the year-to-date, U.S. shipments of residential […]
According to Baker Hughes data from February 14, 2014, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,764 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This count is a decrease of 7 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs up 7 to 1,423 rigs, gas rigs down 14 to 337 rigs, […]
During the month of January, Steel Market Update provided steel import forecasts for the month of January based on the weekly license data provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce. As we have explained previously, license data can be quite misleading compared to the final Census numbers. However, we did receive a number of emails […]