Global manufacturing was subdued in August said J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI was at a 21 month low of 52.5 in August, down 0.3 points from July. “August PMI data signaled a slight firming in global manufacturing output growth to a solid pace at near three percent annualized,” said […]
The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) has been erratic in the last four months with two brief spikes above $70 per barrel. The oil price was $66.50 on Aug. 20. The total number of operating rigs exploring for oil and gas was up by 11.7 percent year over year and increased by nine […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of July 2018, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in July totaled 89,960,000 metric tons, an increase of 8.1 percent from the previous month, and an increase of 4.3 percent from […]
A group representing the United States’ leading auto manufacturers, parts suppliers, auto dealers, parts distributors, retailers and vehicle service providers have formed the Driving American Jobs Coalition to oppose potential new Trump administration tariffs on imports of autos and auto parts. The coalition argues that imposing new auto tariffs will cause “massive job losses and […]
Editor’s note: The following was contributed by analysts at the CRU Group. The Turkish-U.S. political relationship has soured sharply in the past week. U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted relations were “not so good” on Friday, Aug. 10, and doubled tariffs on U.S. imports of Turkish steel. Turkish President Erdogan responded with anger, suggesting the country […]
CRU zinc analyst Helen O’Cleary reported late last week on what was causing the short-term movement of zinc pricing: “Zinc’s price has been pressured lower again in recent days on a combination of risk-averse investor sentiment, U.S. dollar strength and a sizeable delivery of warrants into the LME’s New Orleans warehouses. It breached support at […]
The U.S. trade situation is causing some consternation, according to analysts at CRU. During a webinar on Tuesday, which was made available to SMU member companies, analysts discussed the trade measures that have been instituted by the Trump administration and the potential impact on the U.S. and global economies. Steel and aluminum tariffs were imposed […]
U.S. steel exports in June 2018 totaled 913,705 net tons (828,900 metric tons), up 6.5 percent over May and up 0.3 percent from June 2017. Total exports have averaged around 875,000 tons the last few months. The total June export figure is above both the three-month moving average (average of April 2018, May 2018 and […]
Two of the nation’s busiest cargo ports reported record months in July. The South Carolina Ports Authority handled 200,594 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) during the first month of fiscal year 2019, marking the strongest July on record and second-highest monthly container volume in the port’s history. The Georgia Ports Authority recorded its second busiest […]
In a surprising tweet on Friday, President Trump announced his intentions to double the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum from Turkey, raising the tax on imports to 50 percent for steel and 20 percent for aluminum. No word on when the change would take effect. “I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs […]
Flat rolled and plate steel distributors, as well as the manufacturers who purchase spot material from the distributors and wholesalers, are reporting a softening of spot pricing. That is the spot pricing service centers are offering their manufacturing customers. Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our early August flat rolled and plate steel market analysis. […]
June apparent steel supply fell 7.4 percent over May to 8,941,089 net tons, according to government data released late last week. Although down somewhat, supply remains in line with levels of the last three years. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel […]
In a surprising tweet earlier today, President Trump announced his intentions to double the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum from Turkey, raising the tax on imports to 50 percent for steel and 20 percent for aluminum. No word on when the change would take effect. “I have just authorized a doubling of Tariffs […]
Steel Market Update offers this early look at July’s import volume based on license data (see explanation below). The analysis evaluates the pressure that imports are having on individual products at the national level, but gives no indication of regional differences. SMU has developed a new series of regional reports for the six main flat […]
The numbers 201, 232 and 301 are getting a lot of headlines recently. They are sections under three U.S. laws that President Trump has used to impose tariffs on a variety of goods and countries. Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 was used to place tariffs on imports of washing machines and solar […]
Caterpillar says it will raise prices due to U.S. tariff measures despite expecting a stronger profit outlook for the year. The major exporter of construction, mining and energy-related equipment estimates recently imposed tariffs will cost the company $100 million to $200 million in the second half of 2018—about 3 percent of its full-year profits. Strong […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: • Turkey Tariffs– President Trump tweeted on Friday that he “authorized a doubling of Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum with respect to Turkey as their currency, the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: While attending and giving a presentation to the SMU Steel Summit conference in Atlanta on Monday, word came that the U.S. and Mexico had reached a tentative deal on a revised trade agreement. President Trump […]
Are imports of semifinished steel a threat to U.S. national security? Apparently, that depends on the political environment at the time. The controversy over the Trump administration’s Section 232 tariffs is not a new debate. Restrictions on steel imports were on the table in 2001 during the Bush administration. Contrary to today, the Commerce Department […]
Earnings week for the steel industry revealed trade was foremost on the minds of steel executives. The steel mills expressed their approval of the administration’s tariff action that has boosted steel pricing and, along with higher demand, earnings for the second quarter of 2018. • U.S. Steel Corp. CEO David Burritt was a strong advocate […]
The U.S. economy grew at a 4.1 percent rate in the second quarter, up from 2.2 percent in the first quarter, according to the government’s first estimate of the gross domestic product. Growth of second-quarter GDP was the best since third-quarter 2014, and on a trailing 12-month basis has improved for the last eight quarters, […]
The Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing ISM Report on Business expanded for the 111th month in July. The PMI registered a solid 58.1, although decreasing 2.1 points from the June reading of 60.1 percent. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally […]
The rate of expansion for global manufacturing slowed in July, according the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The index reached its lowest reading in a year at 52.7, down from 53.0 in June. “The manufacturing upturn has lost sizeable momentum since the start of the year. However, with final demand growth having firmed in recent […]
Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this new role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategy for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a Trader at Cargill spending time in Metal […]
Lewis Leibowitz, trade attorney and contributor to Steel Market Update, offers the following commentary on the latest developments in Washington: Finally, a good day? President Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker met Wednesday at the White House and issued a joint statement on their agreement to negotiate reductions in barriers between the U.S. and […]
Editor’s note: This article was contributed by Lisa Morrison, principal economist with the CRU Group. From the standpoint of trade policy and its economic effects, it has certainly been another busy month. President Trump is now threatening another round of tariffs on China. This time, it’s a levy of 10 percent on $200 billion in […]
Scrap is trading lower in August. Steel Market Update sources in the ferrous scrap market report that the price of obsolete grades has declined by about $20 per ton and prime by $10 per ton. Weakness in foreign markets has reduced scrap exports, increasing the domestic supply. “Looking forward, I don’t expect prices to really […]
Let’s up the ante to $500 billion. That’s what President Trump is proposing in tariffs against virtually everything China exports to the United States. “I raised $50 billion, and they matched us. I say, ‘You don’t match us. You can’t match us, because otherwise, we’re always going to be behind the eight ball,’” said Trump […]
Nucor’s consolidated net earnings in the second quarter of 2018 jumped to $683.2 million, the second highest quarterly earnings in the company’s history. In comparison, earnings were $354.2 million in the first quarter and $323 million in Q2 2017. Nucor’s Chairman and CEO John Ferriola attributed the successful quarter to an upturn in the steel […]
Section 232 auto tariffs were the subject of a Commerce Department public hearing on Thursday, July 19. The hearings were cut from two days to one after Commerce determined the 45 requests to testify could be accommodated in a single day. All but one of the 45 witnesses was expected to testify against the tariffs. […]