Commodity Inside steel insight articles provides a thematic analysis steel news covering key developments in the steel industry related to steel demand, stainless steel market, steel production, steel trade, steel prices, steel capacity, steel blockchain, steel M&A etc.
Steel slab prices direction impacted by CSN, Gerdau, NLMK and Vale
Friday, 22 March 2019
Slab prices are not fully out of the woods Slab prices direction has been changing for a while now. Despite relatively low demand in the Asian markets and high stock in the US, slab prices once again took a different path in a direction away from where market fundamentals were supposed to be heading. So
- Published in Steel
Trump tariffs are getting relaxed for the steel market
Friday, 01 March 2019
Steel tariffs are impacting steel prices It all started with a tough stance of shielding the US steel industry with a 25% tariffs on the US steel imports. It was tough enough that most US steel mills rushed to replenish their stocks which resulted in sending the US steel prices to its zenith. Overwhelming
- Published in Steel
Indian stainless steel imports from Indonesia soared
Friday, 01 March 2019
A recent development in the Indian stainless steel imports The recent upsurge in stainless steel capacity in Indonesia, mainly by the Chinese stainless steel manufacturers, resulted in rising in Indian stainless steel imports. The Indian Stainless Steel Development Association has already asked the government to impose anti-dumping duties on imports of stainless steel flat products
- Published in Steel
Why SpaceX preferred stainless steel 300 over lightweight materials?
Friday, 01 March 2019
Why was stainless steel 300 series used in Starship? SpaceX, a US-based private aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company, has used stainless steel 300 series in its new Starship. There are other relatively lighter materials such as aluminium and carbon fibre which could be substituted. However, SpaceX opted for stainless steel for various reasons
- Published in Steel
Global slab market update: Steel slab prices show volatility
Tuesday, 19 February 2019
The slab market has been passing through an uncertain period. Demand and supply fundamentals are changing while unconventional market forces are influencing prices. It has been a wild ride for slab prices in recent months. The recovery in slab prices seen in November 2018 was short lived. Prices started to fall drastically from December. In
- Published in Steel
Steel tariffs supports the US steel industry but the future tends to be patchy
Wednesday, 13 February 2019
The US steel industry has seen some robust growth recently owing to 25% duties imposed last year by Trump administration. This has improved the financial position of steel producers. Nucor Corp, a major US steel producer, announced its net earnings of $383 million for the 4th quarter of 2018 with a 300% rise compared to the same
- Published in Steel
JFE to slash production due to maintenance issues
Tuesday, 05 February 2019
Japan’s JFE which is operating around eight blast furnaces across Japan, three of them are facing issues. This would result in a lost of 1.4 million tonnes of crude steel in total. Blast furnace No. 2 at the Kurashiki area, West Japan Works, is set for going back to a pre-banking level in early February
- Published in Steel
Japan expects increase in steel production this year
Tuesday, 05 February 2019
Crude steel production in Japan is expected to rise in 2019 which is to be driven particularly by construction activities ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japan Iron and Steel Association anticipates. Commodity Inside understands that depending on the hosting country such major events usually drive steel demand by constructing new stadiums as well as
- Published in Steel
Canada to decide the future of its provisional steel tariffs
Tuesday, 29 January 2019
Like many other key markets, steel imports have also been facing some tough times in Canada. There are provisional customs duties on the following CRC HS codes payable from on or after 23rd August 2018. 7209.15.00.00 7209.16.00.00 7209.17.00.00 7209.18.00.00 7209.25.00.00 7209.26.00.00 7209.27.00.00 7209.28.00.00 7209.90.00.00 7211.23.00.00 7211.29.00.00 7211.90.00.00 7225.50.00.00 These duties are imposed by the Canada Border
- Published in Steel
EU prepares to retaliate to potential US auto tariffs
Monday, 28 January 2019
The EU is ready to retaliate if the US impose 25% tariffs on auto imports from Europe. The countermeasures could affect $294 billion US exports to Europe. The US administration has been investigating imports from various countries. It imposed 30%-50% tariffs on solar panels and white goods in January 2018. Later in March, the administration
- Published in Steel