Manufacturing contracted in August after five consecutive months of growth, according to the latest Manufacturing Report on Business from the Institute of Supply Management. ISM reported the August PMI at 49.4, down 3.2 points from July at 52.6 percent. It was the first time the index has slipped since February of this year. New orders […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. At the end of […]
The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee met on Friday, an event closely watched by currency traders around the world as they try to anticipate the Fed’s future interest rate activity. AllianceBernstein (AB) had this to say on Saturday. While Yellen’s main focus in Wyoming was on the tools needed to ensure a resilient monetary policy […]
Lewis Leibowitz opened the 6th Steel Summit in Atlanta, GA with a recap of what is happening in the trade regulation of steel imports. In a quick poll preceding the presentation, the audience by a 53 percent to 47 percent vote said they were in favor of dumping suits. An overwhelming 97 percent said they […]
The following report on steel imports is from the American Institute for International Steel (AIIS ): Falls Church, VA. August 25, 2016. Steel imports showed strong gains in July, growing by 12.3 percent from June to 3.17 million net tons. July imports, which were down 3.5 percent from July 2015, were boosted by a 77 […]
Chinese steel trade data was recently released for the month of July 2016, providing updated data on iron ore imports, scrap imports, and flat rolled imports and exports. Chinese imports of iron ore in July were 88,400,000 metric tons, an increase of 8.3 percent from the previous month and an increase of 2.7 percent from […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. […]
The USITC issued a final determination today that the U.S. industry is materially injured by the import of heavy walled rectangular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Korea, Mexico and Turkey and that the products from Turkey are sold in the U.S. at less than fair value and subsidized by the Turkish government. Antidumping […]
For the past nine weeks, Steel Market Update (SMU) has had our Price Momentum Indicator at Neutral. A neutral rating means the market is either in transition or does not have enough momentum to push steel prices in one direction or another. Earlier today SMU adjusted our indicator to “Lower” from Neutral which is a […]
Foreign steel imports are trending toward once again coming in above both the 3 month and 12 month moving average. The U.S. Department of Commerce released license data earlier today and, based on that information, we are on pace for a 2.8 million ton (net tons) month. This would be lower than the 3.2 million […]
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal has renewed its dumping finding against China, Brazil and Ukraine and its subsidy finding against India in regards to the import of hot rolled steel sheet and strip. The CITT decision extends antidumping and subsidy duties another five years. In a press release from Essar Steel Algoma, applauding the decision, […]
The SMU monthly import analysis describes the total tonnage by product. It is intended to be a big picture commentary that describes how import volumes are changing and by implication what effect they are having on the macro market. It does not provide any regional information nor does it tell us the country of origin. […]
Steel Market Update is reintroducing our monthly analysis of foreign steel imports into the United States by product, port and country. This report will be available to our Premium level members shortly after the U.S. government releases the Final Census data for each month. The data was just released for the month of June. Since […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through June 2016 and year on year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side by side comparison of the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron […]
Ryerson Holding Corp, a leading metals distributor and processor, reported net income of $5.6 million for second quarter 2016. Sales of $739.8 million declined 12 percent year over year due to lower average selling price, but increased 5.3 percent from Q1. Tons shipped increased 3.5 percent. Ryerson expects manufacturing growth to remain slow in the […]
Mexican steel association CANACERO welcomed antidumping duties placed on galvanized sheet steel and wire rod imported from China and Taiwan. The Mexican Ministry of Economy placed duties of up to USD$0.563 per kilogram on galvanized sheet from China and Taiwan and USD$0.49 per kilogram on wire rod from China. Said CANACERO in a statement: “Unfair […]
Steel Market Update speaks with dozens of companies on a daily basis and hundreds over the course of a week. We also receive a large number of emails, facebook and LinkedIn posts. Every so often we like to share some of the comments being made in an article we call “Bits ‘N Pieces.” We learned […]
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 June 2016 was 9,098,316 net tons. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished US steel imports, then subtracting total US steel exports. June apparent […]
Another round of antidumping duties was imposed on hot rolled steel products on Tuesday, August 9, but this time from the Commerce Ministry of India. India slapped duties of hot rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel from China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia. The duties range between $474-557 per tonne. Duties of […]
As we moved about the market speaking to buyers of flat rolled steel, we found ourselves immersed in a dialogue about demand now being the major driver of steel prices moving forward. SMU spoke with a number of very large flat rolled steel service center buyers who told us that demand is “fragmented” and there […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released Final Census Data for June as well as an update on July import license data earlier this week. Foreign steel imports came in at 2,821,894 net tons during the month of June. This is essentially unchanged from the prior month’s 2,876,358 net tons of imports. July imports, based on […]
There were some surprises on Friday afternoon when the U.S. Department of Commerce came out with their final determinations regarding antidumping and countervailing duties on hot rolled steel. Perhaps the biggest surprise was saved for POSCO out of Korea and the joint venture partner with US Steel on USS/POSCO mill in California. The UPI mill […]
The US International Trade Commission voted Friday to reverse the suspension of the Section 337 investigation into the imports of carbon and alloy steel products from China. The investigation was initiated on June 2, 2016 following a complaint filed by US Steel Corp alleging price fixing, theft of trade secrets and false designation of origin […]
SMU Sources are advising us that obsolete grades of ferrous scrap are trading sideways (prices remaining the same as last month) while prime grades move lower by $10 to $15 per gross ton in the Chicago, Ohio Valley, Detroit and Indiana markets. Prior to negotiations beginning, the expectation was for obsolete grades to remain intact […]
The European Commission issued on July 29, 2016 final duties on the import of cold rolled flat steel products originating from China and Russia. The investigation was initiated on May 14, 2015 following a complaint by the European Steel Association (Eurofer) that dumping of CRC from Russia and China resulted in injury to the EU […]
By the end of this week, the U.S. Department of Commerce is scheduled to release their final determinations on hot rolled antidumping and countervailing duties against seven countries: Brazil, South Korea, Australia, Japan, United Kingdom, Turkey and the Netherlands. Combined these seven countries represented roughly 55 percent of all hot rolled imported into the United […]
Olympic Steel announced net income of $3.6 million in the second quarter 2016, up substantially from the $22.3 million loss in Q2 2015. Consolidated net sales for the quarter were $273.6 million. Second quarter shipments of carbon flat products totaled 272,000 tons, up 2 percent from first quarter, and 2 percent below Q2 2015. Net […]
Manufacturing activity expanded in July for the fifth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 85th consecutive month, according to supply executives surveyed in the July ISM Report on Business. The PMI registered 52.6 in July, down 0.6 percentage points from June and 2.2 percent above the 12 month average of 50.4. New […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. It is important to understand the difference between our view of the present situation which is subjective and our analysis of trends which is based on the latest facts available. The total […]
ArcelorMittal posted net income of $1.1 billion second quarter 2016 compared to a net loss of $400 million in first quarter. Second quarter EBITDA nearly doubled from first quarter due to higher steel selling prices and volumes. Crude steel production was 13.1 million tonnes with shipments of 22.1 million tonnes. Sales increased to $14.7 billion […]