The Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminum Just over a year ago, on Oct. 3, 2021, the EU and the US signed an agreement to negotiate on carbon intensity and global overcapacity in both steel and aluminum. This lofty goal seemed to have been trumped by the agreement that the US suspended Section 232 […]
Foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports offer little to no cost advantage over domestic steel at this time, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, HRC imported from Germany and Italy are theoretically more expensive than domestic steel, and Far East Asian HRC offers just a […]
Galvanized prices continue to drop, as discussed during this month’s call of the Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council of the Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI). Prices have been steadily dropping for the past six months despite stable demand. A few highlights from the call include the differential between hot-rollled and cold-rolled coil being in […]
Raw steel production by US mills dropped last week, and capability utilization remains below 80%, where it’s now stayed for 15 straight weeks. Rate at or above 80% are considered healthy. Recall that utilization below the 80% benchmark contributed to the 2018 implementation of Section 232 tariffs. Domestic steel output was 1,669,000 net tons in the week […]
The news about AD/CVD orders being removed from Brazil on Friday was notable in that it bucked, in a small way, the trend toward regionalism and protectionism that we’ve seen growing since at least 2014. I noted in my initial writeup – as did Lewis Leibowitz in his deeper dive – that the market impact […]
Last Friday, as Michael Cowden reported, the International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to continue antidumping orders on hot-rolled steel flat products from Australia, Korea, the Netherlands, Japan, Russia, the UK, and Turkey. The vote was 5-0. But by a 3-2 vote, the Commission determined that revocation of the AD and CVD orders on Brazil would […]
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) narrowly voted to revoke anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Brazilian hot-rolled coil. The move comes after US trade officials decided to let duties on Brazilian cold-rolled coil expire – a change that has raised the ire of some domestic mills. The revocation is notable because it could allow for […]
US sheet prices continue to slide, and the weakness in the domestic market has buyers confident that they can get domestic suppliers to negotiate. For hot-rolled coil, imports have not been very advantageous relative to futures. There have been some workable offers for tandem mill products. But buyers have been more inclined to buy domestically or […]
This week, foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) offers little to no cost advantage over domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. Foreign prices now hold a theoretical discount of 0–1% over domestic steel, after adjusting foreign prices for estimated freight costs, trader margins, and tariffs. This relationship has teetered back and forth lately, with […]
Raw steel production by US mills rose modestly last week, but capability utilization remans below 80%. Utilization rates haven’t eclipsed 80% in 14 weeks. This matters because rates at or above 80% are considered healthy. Indeed, rates below that level were part of the justification for the implementation of Section 232 tariffs in 2018. Domestic steel output […]
The apparent lack of change in US plate prices is fast approaching the one-month mark. Prices haven’t moved since Nucor announced a $120-per-ton ($6-per-cwt) price cut on discrete plate on Sept. 19. Despite the recent sideways trend, prices remain under pressure due to a lack of demand. But could potential imports usher in another round […]
The US and European Commission (EC) plan to accelerate global steel discussions in the coming weeks. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and EC Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis met last week in Washington to discuss ways to strengthen the trading and economic relationships between the two regions, Tai’s office said. Tai and Dombrovskis discussed the role […]
The price advantaged once offered by foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) over domestic steel is gone, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price analysis. Foreign prices are now higher than domestic prices after adjusting for freight costs, trader margins, and tariffs. Domestic HRC is priced as much as 2% below current foreign prices. The gap between US and foreign […]
The US Department of Commerce has updated the antidumping duty rate on imports of carbon and alloy cut-to-length plate from South Korea’s Posco. Having looked at the one-year period ended April 30, 2021, Commerce set a final weighted-average dumping margin of 2.59% for POSCO, according to a Federal Register filing. The final rate was slightly […]
Ingram Marine Group, the largest US barge operator, on Oct. 6 declared force majeure in a letter to customers. The company said low water levels had made it impossible to make timely deliveries. Vessels have run aground near Memphis, Tenn., and there is a logjam of more than 122 vessels/barges near Stack Island, Miss., impeding […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is disputing the US International Trade Commission’s recent decision to allow antidumping and countervailing duties on cold-rolled steel flat products from Brazil to expire. In July, the ITC completed five-year sunset reviews of the AD and CVDs on cold-rolled imports. While the agency decided that the duties should remain in place for China, […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) at a bargain has all but faded again, with adjusted foreign prices now offering little or no advantage over domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for two of the three regions […]
The appeal to import foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) in place of purchasing domestic steel remains low to non-existent, but that may be changing, according to our latest foreign versus domestic price analysis. Foreign prices were flat to down as much as $40 per net ton this week, while domestic prices increased $5 per ton. Foreign […]
Foreign steel imports from two of the three regions tracked by Steel Market Update no longer have a price advantage over domestic steel. US HRC prices are potentially 5% cheaper than imported steel from the two regions, according to our latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled steel price analysis. Foreign HRC prices for just one region […]
Foreign steel imports from two of the three regions tracked by Steel Market Update have lost their price advantage over domestic steel, according to our latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled steel price analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for just one region remain cheaper than domestic steel […]
The White House announced earlier this month, to no one’s surprise, that hundreds of companies and trade associations had expressed interest in continuing Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods. These expressions related only to the tariffs on $34 billion and $16 billion in trade value, the so-called “List 1” and “List 2” tariffs. The Office […]
Natural gas inspired staggering energy prices crush primary aluminum economics The suspension of gas deliveries through the Nord Stream pipeline has further aggravated an already grim energy situation for European aluminum producers. Prices for day-ahead power in Western Europe are stunning in their magnitude: 404 euros/megawatt hour were published on Friday for Germany, France, the […]
It’s time to forecast 2023, and I’d like to throw out one radical possibility – or at least one worth thinking about. What if there are no black swans? I know, that possibility is so remote that it’s almost laughable. We haven’t had many normal years since 2018. That year gave us the shock of […]
Foreign hot-rolled coil imports have very little (if any) price advantage over domestic steel prices at this time, according to SMU’s latest analysis. In fact, German HRC prices are more expensive than domestic steel after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration. Prices in Italy and in Asia hold only a 1–3% potential […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) at a discount over domestic steel remains minimal. Adjusted foreign prices now offer little advantage over domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s (SMU) latest analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins, and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for the three regions covered in this analysis […]
Although traders can sometimes get a bad rap, they play an important role in the steel industry and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, according to a trade panel speaking at the 2022 SMU Steel Summit conference in Atlanta. As Jerry Richardson, president of CSN LLN, pointed out, traders play many roles. From complying with trade […]
Economic conditions are still iffy at best. Housing data continues to suffer with new home sales plunging and inventory reaching the highest it has been since 2009. The Richmond and Kansas City Fed manufacturing indexes both plunged in July as well. The Richmond Fed’s manufacturing skill availability index, which indicates the demand for skilled labor […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) at a bargain has all but faded, with adjusted foreign prices now offering little or no advantage over domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for two of the three regions covered […]
We’ve concluded the second day of our Steel Summit conference in Atlanta, and I thought I’d leave you with five things I learned today. So here they are in no particular order: Say Hello to ADI, Say Goodbye to Section 232 (as we know it) It’s not official yet. But Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) president […]
Foreign steel imports from the three regions tracked by Steel Market Update have all but lost their price advantage over domestic steel, according to our latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for one region are more expensive than domestic […]