The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) released final census data on July foreign steel imports. The DOC advised total steel imports of 3,482,524 net tons. When semi-finished steels are removed (slabs/billets/blooms), finished steel imports totaled 2,896,389 net tons. At the same time, the DOC advised the latest license data for the month of August. As […]
Steel Market Update asked four panelists at the 2018 Steel Summit to define free and fair trade and offer some solutions to what most in the industry consider unfairly traded steel imports. Philip Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association representing North American EAF steel producers, said there are five components of free and fair […]
The manufacturing panel during the SMU Steel Summit Conference last week in Atlanta featured a lively exchange between Barry Zekelman (CEO, Zekelman Industries) and Dan Pearson (Cato Institute). Mr. Zekelman’s comments appeared in the Aug. 31, 2017, issue of Steel Market Update. Mr. Pearson, the former chairman of the International Trade Commission, read our article […]
The market’s obsessive speculation over Section 232 and possible new tariffs on steel imports has caused many to miss the big story, said Timna Tanners, research analyst for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Stop worrying about what’s happening in Washington and pay more attention to what’s happening in China,” she told the sellout crowd at […]
Barry Zekelman calls himself a free-trader. Yet his company, Zekelman Industries, filed a trade case last year alleging that Chinese producers of circular welded steel pipe were guilty of evading U.S. import duties. Espousing free trade while suing to block imports may seem like a contradiction, but Zekelman made a good case for his position […]
Tomorrow, Monday, Aug. 28, the steel event of the year will kick off in Atlanta. With over 650 steel and manufacturing executives registered, expectations are for this conference to truly be the most dynamic steel conference in North America for 2017. Welcome to the Steel Market Update Steel Summit Conference. This is what the fuss […]
Senior steel executives representing most of the nation’s flat rolled and long product manufacturers appealed directly to Donald Trump on Wednesday urging action on the Section 232 steel imports case. The letter from 25 steel and steel-related companies asked the president to take “broad and decisive action to ensure the ability of the domestic steel […]
Manufacturers in the precision metalforming sector are not expecting much change in business conditions during the next three months, although orders are expected to trend slightly downward, according to the August 2017 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. Current average daily shipping levels dropped significantly in August with 28 percent reporting levels above those […]
Today, 25 steel mills and related companies, as well as the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), sent a letter to President Trump asking that he act on Section 232 and stop foreign steel from damaging the domestic steel industry. According to the letter, 30 percent of the apparent supply […]
I am now in Atlanta and the workload and my focus, and that of Ray Culley, Brett Linton and Diana, are all on organizing every minute of the SMU Steel Market Update program, which begins at 2 PM ET on Monday. There are always a few hiccups along the way… something to make your day […]
How can domestic mills expect to increase prices when their lead times are so short and foreign steel is still so plentiful? In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members commented on the contradictions in mill behavior that have left them confused and concerned about […]
Over the last few weeks, the price of zinc has risen to over $1.41 per pound on the London Metal Exchange, and I thought it was time for an update on a series of articles I’ve written on the actual metallic cost of coating steel with zinc. To do the calculation, I use a spreadsheet […]
BlueScope Steel, the parent of North Star BlueScope, will have a change in command. Mark Vassella has been appointed the new managing director and chief executive officer following retirement by outgoing CEO Paul O’Malley effective Dec. 31, 2017. O’Malley has been at the helm of BlueScope Steel the past 10 years of his 12-year tenure. […]
I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. We are trying to accommodate everyone who wants to attend our 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference even though we are technically sold out. We did manage to loosen up a few seats and those were gobbled up the moment we let people know they were […]
During the week of Aug. 14, 2017, the U.S. steel mills advised their flat rolled and steel plate customers of their intention to increase spot prices on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels, as well as plate. The flat rolled mills announced $30 per ton base price increases on new spot business. For […]
No one was surprised when major U.S. steel mills announced a $30 per ton price hike on flat rolled and plate this week. The price hikes were widely expected. But a majority (58 percent) of respondents to SMU’s latest flat roll market trends questionnaire will be surprised if the higher prices stick. Some predict the […]
Despite the ongoing delay in Washington, six of 10 respondents to SMU’s latest flat roll market trends questionnaire believe the Trump administration will eventually put new restrictions on foreign steel imports based on Section 232 national security concerns. Even more, 74 percent, believe the slowdown in the Section 232 decision is opening the door to […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) is releasing our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index for mid-August. The Index measures how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful both in the current market environment, as well as three to six months into the future. Overall, our Indexes remains optimistic. However, […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest license data for foreign steel imports for the month of August. Beginning in March 2017, imports have exceeded 3.0 million tons, perhaps peaking in June at just shy of 4.0 million tons. The expectation has been for import levels to drop due to concerns about the Section […]
Steel buyers and sellers reported mills slightly more open to steel price discussions, based on responses this week from Steel Market Update’s flat rolled market trends questionnaire, possibly reflecting the seasonal slowdown in sales activity. What makes the results collected on mills willingness to negotiate pricing especially interesting is the domestic steel mills began announcing […]
Nucor’s Plate Group announced a $30 price increase on Aug. 14, citing escalating raw material and input costs. Nucor will increase transaction prices on all new orders for carbon, alloy and heat-treated plate by $30 per ton, effective immediately. Plate distributors responding to SMU’s request for comment are generally supportive of Nucor’s move. “The plate […]
One of the reasons Steel Market Update has constant contact with steel buyers and steel mills is because we are aware that pricing momentum can change on a rumor or a belief that supply or demand is shifting. We are seeing market sentiment being impacted by Section 232. At the same time, scrap prices are […]
Even though the Trump administration has postponed a decision on Section 232, the possibility of trade action that will further restrict steel imports is still influencing the market, according to comments from service centers, manufacturers and trading companies gathered in last week’s Steel Market Update Flat Roll Market Trends questionnaire. Two-thirds of all steel buyers […]
Steel imports are higher this year than 2016, but still below levels of 2015, according to ports on the West and Gulf Coasts. The Port of New Orleans has seen imports increase slightly over a year ago. In the first six months of 2016, imports rose to 1,186,630 tons from 1,179,037 tons in the same […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, 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 […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been expanding our analysis of flat rolled steel service center inventories in an effort to provide a second opinion on this key subject for both buyers and sellers. We continue to review inventory levels through the use of our flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire that we distribute twice per […]
Flat rolled steel buyers are fairly optimistic about their chances for success in the current market, though the various metrics Steel Market Update uses to gauge future demand are sending mixed signals. One likely cause is the uncertainty injected into the market by the Trump administration’s now-delayed Section 232 investigation. According to the latest SMU […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) regularly receives questions from those who have already registered to attend our SMU Steel Summit Conference, as well as those who are contemplating attending (there is still time and space). In order to help both groups, here are some of the Frequently Asked Questions about our conference: General Conference Questions Q: […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) regularly receives questions from those who have already registered to attend our SMU Steel Summit Conference, as well as those who are contemplating attending (there is still time and space). In order to help both groups, here are some of the Frequently Asked Questions about our conference: General Conference Questions Q: […]
The lack of a committed market direction by service centers, coupled with strong imports and inventories that SMU believes are balanced to slightly bloated at the distributors, has prompted us to move our SMU Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral from Higher. In an interesting development, twice as many manufacturing companies reported that flat rolled steel […]