The electric arc furnace and caster at JSW Ohio are slowly producing more slabs after the re-start of the furnace back on Dec. 14, 2018. The furnace is running just about every day at this point, according to SMU sources. However, it is being limited to just a few heats. The mill’s goal is to […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Chief Market Risk Officer, 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 […]
Tenaris, a global manufacturer and distributor of energy tubular products, has begun the second phase of its service center expansion in Midland, Texas. The project will add pipe and tube storage and service capabilities for customers in the Permian basin and other key shale plays across the U.S. Phase 2 consists of several stages of […]
Nucor’s $650 million investment to expand the production capability of its Ghent, Ky., mill will transform the former Gallatin Steel plant into an ultra-modern “quality strip production” plant or QSP, claims Danieli, the Italian company that will design and install the new mill equipment. The project will nearly double the annual production capability of Nucor […]
Pittsburgh, PA, October 18, 2018 – Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (NYSE: ATI) announced today it has signed an agreement to provide carbon steel hot-rolling conversion services for NLMK USA at ATI’s world-class Hot-Rolling and Processing Facility, or HRPF, located in Brackenridge, PA. Slab shipments to ATI will begin immediately and increase to anticipated production levels in […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: As we approach the 2018 mid-term elections in a bit more than two weeks, I checked on the available data on voter attitudes toward the tariffs and trade policy. There is a lot of information […]
The cost of many products used in construction climbed 7.4 percent over the past year due to double-digit increases in commonly used construction materials, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new Labor Department data. Association officials noted that the cost increases come as many construction firms are already grappling […]
Energy prices are up, but growth in the rig count has slowed, and bottlenecks in the nation’s oil fields will continue to constrain oil and gas production—and along with it demand for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), reports Rick Preckel, a principal at Preston Pipe, a Ballwin, Mo., market research and consulting firm. As of […]
In an article last week, I overstated the amount of quota Brazil had for Galvalume. One of the other traders/mills was nice enough to provide me the accurate data. The yearly quota on AZ is 49,974.44 metric tons. The other flat rolled and plate product quotas out of Brazil are as follows: Hot rolled = […]
So far, I have found the CRU North American Steel Conference in Chicago today to be filled with some excellent speakers and topics. There has been a considerable amount of support for the policies of President Trump, especially with Section 232 tariffs and the handling of trade negotiations with China, Mexico and Canada. Perhaps panelist […]
The United States’ Section 232 steel tariffs are adding to the government coffers as the increase in calculated duties on steel rose by 4,300 percent in second-quarter 2018. Earlier this week, Steel Market Update was asked if we knew how much revenue has been coming from the Section 232 tariffs on steel. We were intrigued […]
The United States’ Section 232 steel tariffs are adding to the government coffers as the increase in calculated duties on steel rose by 4,300 percent in second-quarter 2018. Earlier this week, Steel Market Update was asked if we knew how much revenue has been coming from the Section 232 tariffs on steel. We were intrigued […]
The Commerce Department has developed a new tool that makes it easier to track steel trade flows. The Global Steel Trade Monitor, available here, provides extensive and timely steel trade data for the top 20 global steel importing countries and top 20 global steel exporting countries. “Timely detailed data in user-friendly formats are essential both […]
Written by John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update When I was selling steel for a domestic mill (Winner Steel, now called NLMK Sharon), there was always cause for concern when steel buyers would contact me and reference a price from a trade publication that I knew to be “out of date” with the […]
Nucor Corp. announced plans to invest $650 million to expand the production capability at Nucor Steel Gallatin. The upgrade would increase the Kentucky flat rolled sheet mill’s capability to 3.0 million tons annually from its current level of 1.6 million tons. In addition, the maximum coil width would be increased to 73 inches. The facility […]
Zekelman Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of steel pipe and tube, has filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company listed an offering of $100 million and hopes to complete its IPO this year, according to Bloomberg. Zekelman posted net income of $161 million on net sales of $2.1 […]
Zekelman Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of steel pipe and tube, has filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company listed an offering of $100 million and hopes to complete its IPO this year, according to Bloomberg. Zekelman posted net income of $161 million on net sales of $2.1 […]
Effective Monday, August 13, the Trump administration doubled the tariffs on steel imports from Turkey to 50 percent, stunning the market and setting off a wave of speculation on how this trade action may impact the steel and scrap markets in North America. A tweet from President Trump early Friday set the change in motion: […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: News reports abound on U.S. companies that are hurting as a result of the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum and the China Section 301 tariffs. Today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative […]
Steel prices held the top spot on the IHS Markit PEG Engineering and Construction Cost Index for July. The survey of procurement executives showed construction costs have increased for 21 consecutive months, with July’s reading up 1.4 points from June to register 68.0. Prices for materials and equipment grew in eight of the 12 categories […]
The 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference is on pace to become the largest conference we have ever hosted. Our conference will be the premium networking event for manufacturers, fabricators, steel distributors, steel mills, trading companies and toll processors, as well as the industries that supply those groups. Based on the current registration rate, we anticipate […]
Twice each month, Steel Market Update conducts a review of the flat rolled and plate steel industries. We do this through a web-based questionnaire, which is sent to approximately 640 individuals associated with either the flat rolled or plate steel industries. The individuals invited are from manufacturing, steel distribution, steel mills, trading companies and toll […]
NLMK USA has requested tariff exclusion on the import of slabs under Section 232, but has received blowback from several U.S. steel mills. Nucor, U.S. Steel and AK Steel have filed objections to the request, arguing that there is sufficient slab supply in the United States to supply NLMK yet the company continues to buy […]
Manufacturers and fabricators report that business is good, but it’s certainly not easy. Steel Market Update has recruited a dynamic group of executives who will explore topics ranging from trade and tariffs to automation and logistics on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at SMU’s Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. The title of their panel is Manufacturing Forecast: […]
The final circumvention decision on Vietnam is due tomorrow, but will not be announced to the public until Thursday. We will have a full article and comments from trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz in Thursday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update. The recent Court of Appeals case may have some impact on the Vietnam final determination. […]
Metals Service Center Institute data shows that service center shipments in March were slightly less than the seasonal norm. Daily shipments in March were down by 0.8 percent from the February result. On average since 2009, March shipments have increased by 0.3 percent; therefore, these latest numbers were seasonally slightly worse than the historical average […]
Steel Dynamics reported a very strong first quarter with record shipments in the flat rolled division and a 94 percent utilization rate, well above the domestic industry average of 76 percent. Demand and product pricing improved across SDI’s entire steel platform. Net sales totaled $2.6 billion for the quarter and net income was $228 million. […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce updated their license data for the months of March and April, and we now have data through April 17. Based on the data just released, both March and April appear poised to come in around 3.5 million net tons. The largest importers continue to be the domestic steel mills as […]
Service center shipments of carbon plate increased in March, while shipments of flat roll and tubular products declined, compared with the same month last year, according to the Metals Service Center Institute’s March Metals Activity Report. Overall, service center shipments saw an improvement in March from the prior month. U.S. service centers shipped 3.596 million […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in March totaled 435,600 net tons, up 13.6 percent from February, and up 3.4 percent from March 2017, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). This is the highest monthly shipment level seen since June 2015 when 437,000 tons were shipped from Canadian service centers. On a daily basis, […]