Nearly as disturbing as the steel imports themselves are repeated delays in promised trade relief, say steel industry executives, who find themselves doing business in a state of “perpetual uncertainty.” While there is no official confirmation from the Department of Commerce, SMU’s sources have confirmed reports that the Commerce Department has again delayed a preliminary […]
Steel imports into the U.S. increased by nearly 20 percent in the first nine months of the year, giving imports an estimated 28 percent share of the U.S. steel market—much to the ire of domestic steelmakers. Citing preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute on Wednesday reported that steel imports year to […]
Commercial Metals Co., a Texas-based long products producer and scrap recycler, reported a profitable fiscal 2017 despite imports of rebar and other products that continue to squeeze margins. CMC management is hopeful the company will get an assist from Washington in the coming year. “The need for infrastructure renewal is overwhelming, but the issue is […]
If the Trump administration restricts steel imports under Section 232, it will open the United States to a host of retaliatory measures by other nations and will do little to address the root cause of the problem, which is China, argues the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS), a trade group representing foreign steel producers. […]
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 plate producer SSAB Americas saw higher prices and volumes in the third quarter. The segment reported good demand early in the quarter, which weakened as the period progressed. Sales jumped 31 percent from the prior year and 6 percent from Q2, for a total of SEK 3.34 billion ($407 million). Shipments increased 12 percent […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum experienced an uptick in orders for energy and nonresidential construction during the third quarter. Demand, in general, was stronger than anticipated, however tons sold are expected to decline 4.0 to 6.0 percent in the fourth quarter due to seasonal slowdowns and fewer shipping days. Reliance anticipates the average selling price in […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) found steel buyers receptive to speaking their minds on how various steel mills are responding to the price increase announcements made last week. It appears mills with shorter lead times are perhaps a little more receptive to waiving part or all of the increases. Other mills have better order books and […]
Wholesaler/distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market are waiting anxiously to see what happens to prices in the coming weeks. In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members asked two key questions: Will the mills be able to collect the flat roll […]
Steel Dynamics and CEO Mark Millett are expecting a tighter steel market in the fourth quarter. After surging ahead of possible Section 232 trade action, import levels have declined and, coupled with strengthening order rates and longer lead times, steel prices are expected to appreciate significantly, said Millet in remarks during the company’s quarterly conference […]
The delay by the Trump administration in making a decision on Section 232 is allowing further damage to the steel industry, said Nucor CEO, Chairman and President John Ferriola during the company’s third-quarter conference call. Ferriola said he is not surprised by the surge of imports that have come into the U.S. since spring. Countries […]
SMU published an article in Tuesday evening’s issue about the comments made by General John Adams on national security and the need for steel. The title of the article was “General Goes Nuclear in Support of Section 232.” We received a number of comments from that article wanting to know if we had fact-checked what […]
Those who believe unfairly traded steel imports pose a serious threat to America’s security have a high-ranking ally in retired Brigadier General John Adams. In an Oct. 16 op/ed in The Hill, titled “North Korea is Distracting from America’s Steel Import Crisis,” Adams argues that the Section 232 trade case should rate headlines comparable those […]
The expectation has been for a huge swing lower in the amount of flat rolled foreign steel imports coming into the United States in October. The industry is waiting for the combination of the drying up of the surge of orders placed to “beat” any Section 232 duty and the impact of higher world steel […]
The Steel Manufacturers Association is still confident that the Section 232 investigation on steel imports will bring relief to the U.S. steel industry. SMA President Philip Bell called the investigation a “really complex issue,” during a media call on Monday. Although the administration issued a self-imposed deadline of June 30, which it failed to meet, […]
The following article was written by trade attorney Lewis E. Leibowitz regarding the historical precedent for exclusion of products from any Section 232 decision that impacts imports of foreign steel. Leibowitz is well known to Steel Market Update, having spoken on trade issues at a number of SMU Steel Summit Conferences, and he has provided […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to be optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment as well as three to six months into the future. We are seeing signs of what has become a normal mild tapering of enthusiasm as we enter the fourth quarter of the […]
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 […]
Despite the major flat rolled trade cases concluded in 2016, flat rolled steel imports continue to surge. Coated imports are at their highest levels ever and cold rolled imports are near record levels. This article, by Paul Lowrey of Steel Research Associates, provides some historical context to the current situation. This analysis includes all products […]
The American Institute for International Steel, representing 120 companies supporting 1.2 million jobs in the steel-using sectors and 84,000 direct and indirect jobs in the marine transportation system, wrote to the president this week requesting termination of the Section 232 investigation on steel imports. AIIS said they appreciate that a significant part of the rationale […]
I am in Fort Wayne, Ind., along with members of my Steel 101 team, John Eckstein, Mario Briccetti, Steve Murphy, Steve Painter, Sandy Williams, as well as Tim Triplett who will be attending his first Steel 101 workshop. Over the next two days, we will be working with a large class of attendees and discussing […]
Steel tariffs are still likely from the Trump administration, said Nucor CEO and President John Ferriola. In an interview with Bloomberg, Ferriola said a White House official that regularly meets with the president told him that the topic is brought up by Trump several times a week. Ferriola said he was told that two or […]
Ryerson Holding Corp., a value-added processor and distributor of industrial metals, sees improved demand and sequential growth for the third quarter in the construction equipment, food processing and agricultural industries and year-over-year growth in nearly all of its end markets. In its third-quarter guidance, Ryerson noted U.S. service center volumes have increased by more than […]
ArcelorMittal USA will idle its rolling mill in Conshohocken, Pa., within the next year and consolidate its plate operations. Production from the mill will be transferred to the Coatesville and Burns Harbor facilities. The heat treat and inspection operation will continue at Conshohocken using steel rolled by the sister facilities. The decision to idle the […]
Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings will go public with the sale of at least $150 million in shares. The company filed for an initial public offering on Wednesday with security regulators in Canada. Stelco, the former U.S. Steel Canada, was acquired out of bankruptcy by Bedrock Industries in June. The restructuring relieved Stelco of $3 […]
One of the surprises over the past year has been the amount of foreign steel imports still arriving in the United States despite antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD), a Section 337 complaint, a circumvention complaint and the Trump directive for the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to investigate steel as it relates to national […]
Last Friday, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that the domestic solar industry has been seriously injured by imports of cheap, foreign-made solar cells. The case was brought by solar panel makers Suniva and SolarWorld under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The ITC now has until Nov. 13 to make recommendations to […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) asked those responding to last week’s flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire where they see flat rolled steel prices headed? The results are shown in the graphic below. However, what is also of interest were the comments left behind by respondents. First, the results: The majority (52 percent) believe there is […]
A note that SMU adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Lower from Neutral on Friday. I have explained 10 of the reasons why (and there are more) in the first article in tonight’s newsletter. If you would like to make comments, feel free to reach out to me at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. I will be working on […]
Both Current and Future Sentiment showed a slight decline as a single data point in the latest SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index, based on data gathered in mid-September. 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 […]