The MNI Chicago Business Barometer gained 1.6 points in May to register 54.2. Survey responses showed softening in both manufacturing business activity and confidence. The three-month average for the Index slipped to a two-year low, said MNI Indicators. Production and new orders rose in May, but not enough to make up for weaker levels in […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices have risen sharply in the past week as the strong Chinese demand has continued and fears of further supply disruptions have emerged in Australia and Brazil. On Tuesday, May 21, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $101.5 /t, which translates to a $6.5 […]
Rail transport is a critical link in getting steel to market. With domestic mills cranking out steel at more than 80 percent of their capacity, are the railroads struggling to keep up? “People assume our business should be booming, but it’s not as straightforward as one would think,” said JR (Jim) Schaaf, Group Vice President […]
The competitiveness of steel continues to lose ground against aluminum and plastic, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cold rolled steel sheet has become less competitive against aluminum sheet in the last year and this has carried through to steel and aluminum cans. Steel tubular goods have lost ground to […]
The Trump administration has cut the U.S. tariffs on steel imports from Turkey in half, trimming them from 50 percent back to 25 percent where they were originally set last August. In a statement on Friday, the White House noted that imports of steel into the U.S. declined by 12 percent overall last year, and […]
SSAB Americas was a strong contributor for SSAB’s global steel business in the first quarter of 2019. The Americas segment turned in a solid performance with an EBITDA margin of 23 percent and record profit of $129 million due to higher steel prices. Sales increased 45 percent from the first quarter of 2018 to $3.363 […]
The Russians are coming—to Kentucky. Russian aluminum producer United Co. Rusal plans to invest $200 million in a $1.7 billion rolling mill being built by start-up company Braidy Industries in Ashland, Ky. The investment will give Rusal a 40 percent stake in the project and a significant presence in the U.S. automotive and aerospace aluminum […]
President Trump’s now aborted threat this week to close the Mexican border over immigration prompted a coalition of industries to express their concerns about border trade. In a letter sent to National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow and Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney, the coalition discussed the need for all […]
Producer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows steel losing ground to rival materials. Steel continues to become less competitive against aluminum, although the rate of change is slowing. In the case of plastic pipe compared to carbon steel pipe, steel is becoming dangerously uncompetitive. Prefabricated metal buildings are still challenged by […]
It’s Oscar night. I will try to keep my final thoughts brief. President Trump has delayed the increase in the Section 301 tariffs against China. The deadline was March 2, 2019. No new deadline has been set. However, President Xi of China will meet with President Trump in Florida in the later part of March. […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Erik Hedborg and Andrew Gadd The death toll after the tailings dam accident at Vale’s Córrego do Feijão mine continues to climb, as 84 people are now confirmed dead and close to 300 are still missing. Five people have been arrested; three managers at the Córrego do Feijão mine site and […]
The plate markets have been acting quite differently than the hot rolled markets for some time. As hot rolled prices have eroded, plate prices have stabilized, with discrete plate trading around $1,000 per ton, delivered to the mill’s customer. We are seeing the dynamics of the plate markets changing, and SMU wants to be careful […]
Steel Dynamics is excited about its recently announced plans for a new steel mill in the Southwest. After an outstanding year, breaking records for shipments, sales, net income and cash flow, CEO Mark Millett is looking forward to filling a steel void in the southwestern U.S. and Mexico. Steel Dynamics hopes to announce a site […]
U.S. ports reported a record year for cargo volume in 2018. The Port of Los Angeles broke its all-time cargo record for the third time in a row, moving 9,458,749 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units the size of a container), a 1.2 percent increase from 2017. The Port of New Orleans reported a new record and a […]
This article on the competitiveness of steel against other products was originally produced last week for Steel Market Update Premium members. We want our entire readership to review the analysis done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and then analyzed by Peter Wright on our staff. If you would like information about upgrading to Premium […]
Steel became less competitive in 2018 against aluminum, plastic and wood, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. The cost of carbon cold rolled sheet was up more than twice as much as aluminum sheet, and steel pipe was up by nine times as much as plastic […]
The Christmas holidays slowed freight movement last week, as expected, but shippers still scrambled to find available trucks. A capacity crunch set load-to-truck ratios soaring and increased rates for dry van, refrigerated and flatbed freight. DAT Trendlines reports the flatbed ratio rose to 26.1 loads-per-truck from 19.5 the previous week. National flatbed rates increased by […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through December of the five materials considered in this report. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and […]
Construction spending inched lower in October from September levels, but increased from the October 2017 total, according to an analysis of new Census data by the Associated General Contractors of America. However, investment in public infrastructure posted declines from recent peaks, and association officials urged the White House and Congress to act promptly on comprehensive […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices have lifted since last week, primarily due to concerns over BHP suspending operations on its Pilbara network. [Editor’s note: BHP suspended rail operations in Western Australia after it was forced to deliberately derail a runaway ore train on Nov. 5.] This caused iron ore prices to […]
Steel Facing Stiff Competition from Other Products This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Steel is becoming less competitive compared to aluminum, plastic and wood. […]
I am keeping the SMU Flat Rolled Price Momentum Indicator at “Neutral” as I do not yet see any clear-cut signs of a solid push higher on pricing. What I have seen is a possible short-term bottom to the lower end of our range. This helped take our hot rolled index average from $805 to […]
Steel Dynamics announced record financial results for third-quarter 2018. Sales for the quarter totaled $3.2 billion for a net income of $398 million compared to prior-year third-quarter sales of $2.4 billion and net income of $153 million. “Our third-quarter 2018 income from operations of $532 million and adjusted EBITDA of $626 million were both record […]
Union Partners has acquired the assets of Xcel Steel’s pickling operations in Dearborn, Mich., effective Oct. 5. The division has joined Union Partners-owned Maksteel and will now operate under the name Maksteel Processing. As this transition occurs, there will be no interruption in service to customers, the company said. The Detroit location of Xcel Steel Processing will continue […]
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 […]
A molten steel spill at the AK Steel Ford River Rouge complex required containment by firefighters early Monday morning. “At about 2 a.m. today (Sept. 17), Dearborn Works experienced a small spill of iron from a rail car. There were no injuries and no impact to customers,” said a spokesperson for AK Steel. Dearborn Deputy […]
This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Carbon steel tubular products have a rate of price escalation much higher than plastic products. This is also […]
Hurricane Florence is expected to take a toll on shipments from the Carolinas and Virginia. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, trucks were in short supply for regular freight shipments as many were diverted to the storm-affected areas to help with recovery efforts. If Florence causes similar damage, that scenario could be repeated. Truckload spot […]
Both the plate mills and their customers are advising Steel Market Update that, unlike the hot rolled markets, the plate markets are hot and are expected to continue to be hot for some time to come. The plate mills continue to be on “controlled order entry” (allocation) and all of the mills are struggling to […]
The American Trucking Association forecasts that total freight volumes will increase by 4.2 percent to nearly 16 billion tons in 2018. Over the next decade, freight volumes will jump by 35.6 percent to 21.7 billion tons. The newly released ATA Freight Forecast 2018 to 2029 also anticipates that truck volumes will grow 2.3 percent per […]