February 2017 steel exports totaled 827,559 net tons (750,750 metric tons), up 1.1 percent over January and up 6.2 percent from February 2016. This is the highest export level seen since June 2015 when 885,190 tons were exported out of the US. The total February export figure is above the three month moving average (average […]
According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of February 2017 was 8,501,854 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US steel exports. February apparent […]
Scrap dealers are pointing at the order book at the domestic mills as one of the main reasons why ferrous scrap prices inched back after the domestic mills initially pushed for shred and obsolete grades to be lower by $30 per gross ton. The mills could not get enough dealers to fill their scrap order […]
On Monday, Flack Global Metals announced the merger of Kenwood Painted Metals with Flack Global Metals. With the addition of KPM, Flack Global Metals is projecting sales for 2017 to be close to $400 million. Steel Market Update spoke with Flack Global Metals CEO, Jeremy Flack about their company’s drive to grow as a “Next […]
On Friday the President signed an executive order that is designed to enhance trade enforcement efforts by the Commerce Department. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative Commerce are directed to develop a plan within 90 days that will […]
As we moved around the industry trying to gauge where flat rolled steel prices are this week, we found most buyers as being optimistic but perhaps not as many as two weeks ago. There seems to be a growing question about whether the market has “peaked” or not. Everyone wants to know where prices will […]
Production in the month of February was 126,579,000 metric tons, down from 137,837,000 tons in January. Capacity utilization fell from 69.2 to 65.5 The three month moving averages (3MMA) that we prefer to use were 132,861,000 and 67.8 percent respectively. This capacity utilization number is misleading because in February it was severely influenced by the […]
Flat rolled prices moved higher over the past week based on SMU sources. Even so, there is much discussion as to what direction prices will go from here and we will have more on that subject later this week. We did receive comments from a large service center that our readers might find of interest […]
Trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz asked Steel Market Update if he could comment on the recent request for comments on the Buy American rules suggested by President Trump on private projects that require government approval. The U.S. Department of Commerce was charged with telling the President what could be done under current law. Here is the […]
A quick note about our galvanized index: Effective today we are adjusting the coating extra being used on our .060” G90 galvanized benchmark items from $69 per ton to $78 per ton. We are continuing to use the US Steel extra for guidance. So, the change that you see in our G90 item is a […]
US steel exports rose in January according to the latest data analysis by the American Institute for International Steel. The press release from AIIS follows: Falls Church, VA. March 13, 2017. Steel exports started the year off strong, increasing 12.6 percent from December to January. The 818,431 net tons of exports were 4.6 percent higher […]
According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of January 2017 was 9,236,140 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US steel exports. This is the […]
Stelco, the former US Steel Canada, took another procedural step on March 10 to facilitate the sale of the company to Bedrock Industries. Stelco filed its final Plan of Compromise, Arrangement and Reorganization with the Ontario Superior Court that addresses restructuring Stelco’s liabilities and the transaction with Bedrock. The plan “would result in the Company […]
US Steel announced it will permanently close the No. 6 Quench and Temper Mill at Lorain Tubular Operations. The line has been idle since March 2015 and will be permanently shut down by June 8. “This proposed action is a strategic decision for the company after considering a number of factors, including challenging market conditions […]
An antitrust lawsuit filed by indirect steel purchasers against ArcelorMittal USA, US Steel and other steel mills was dismissed in the US District Court of Northern Illinois last week. In 2008, Supreme Auto Transport LLC, based in Michigan, filed a complaint alleging that ArcelorMittal and others were among a group of steel producers who schemed […]
A US Steel worker was killed in an incident at Granite City Works on Sunday morning. The incident occurred in the rail yard around 10:00 am, said company spokesperson Erin DiPietro. No details were revealed concerning the nature of the incident and the name of the worker has not been released. Said DiPietro, “An investigation […]
US Steel Corporation has promoted David B. Burritt to president and chief operating officer effective February 28, 2017. Mario Longhi, who served as president and chief executive officer, will continue as CEO and as a member of the board of directors. Longhi’s focus will be on the company’s strategic vision. Burritt will have executive responsibility […]
Once each quarter we publish the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed asset investment. Currently available GDP data is through the fourth quarter, other data included here is through December or January. Many analysts don’t believe these Party self-serving figures but we include them in our reports because of […]
The US Steel will be in court on March 14 presenting oral arguments opposing the dismissal of antitrust claims in its Section 337 complaint against China. The US International Trade Commission initiated a Section 337 investigation on June 2, 2016 in response to a complaint by US Steel regarding the import of carbon and alloy […]
The following article was written by Mario Briccetti, one of our Steel 101 workshop instructors and the director of the consulting firm: Briccetti & Associates. Mario has written other articles about the costs associated with coating galvanized and Galvalume steels. Those articles can be found in our website in the “Steel Buyers Basics” section of […]
President Donald Trump says the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines must be built from American manufactured steel. After playing with semantics for weeks, the President has now issued a mandate that will require the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines to use steel pipe manufactured in the U.S., according to a report by CNBC on […]
US Steel Corporation is suing the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for failing to complete the pollution permitting process for the company’s Minntac mining facility in Mt. Iron, Minn. US Steel filed a Mandamus claim which asks a judge to require MPCA to take action on a specific request. US Steel said it has been […]
The Global steel industry is on a roll with the y/y growth in the three month moving average (3MMA) of production increasing from negative 5.5 percent in January last year to positive 6.0 percent in January this year. Production in the month of January was 136,514,000 metric tons with a capacity utilization of 69.2 percent. […]
Scrap, scrap, scrap, scrap and scrap…that is what everyone is going to be talking about for the next week to ten days. David Feldstein in tonight’s HRC Futures article suggested prime grades could go higher in March by as much as $80 per gross ton. I have read articles that suggest the numbers could be […]
US Steel announced today that it will withdraw “without prejudice” its trade secrets claim from the Section 337 complaint it filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission against China. US Steel will continue to pursue its claims of antitrust and false designation. The company released the following statement: “We remain committed in our efforts to […]
We believe that to understand the forces acting on the US steel import market it is necessary to examine global trade flows. We present here episode one of our investigation into the global trade of hot rolled coil and cold rolled coil and the US’s position in the big picture. The source of this data […]
The US Steel Granite City hot strip mill is back in action as promised. US Steel has called 225 employees back to work to restart the facility’s idled hot mill. For the present, only the hot mill will be restarted which reheats steel slabs, sourced from other US Steel mills, to process them into coil. […]
According to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute, apparent steel supply for the month of December 2016 was 8,622,171 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US steel exports. December apparent […]
“Sanity is back in the seabourne iron ore market,” said Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves in comments during the Cliffs earnings call on Thursday. After the departure of three key executives in the Australian ore market, iron ore prices doubled and Rio Tinto, Vale and BHP are exhibiting disciplined behavior which will support strong […]
December steel exports totaled 726,847 net tons (659,385 metric tons), down 0.3 percent over November but up 0.2 percent from December 2015. This is the lowest export level seen since December 2015 when 658,362 tons were exported. Total December figures are below the thee month moving average (average of October, November, and December 2016 figures) […]