Commodity prices are rising and rising. And are being further fueled by demand from China. In Europe, EUROFER announces how badly the European steel sector is doing. And in the same breath, EU steelmakers are cheering record profits. In addition, the US downstream industry is attacking the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Spot iron ore prices break through $200 per tonne
After the Chinese holidays, spot iron ore prices, as we and others predicted, broke through the $200 per ton mark for the first time. Commodity prices are also picking up elsewhere as more and more major industrial economies open up.
In addition to iron ore, copper, tin and lumber are among the big winners on the commodity exchanges.
Source: bloomberg.com
EU mills with record profits: Best start to the year in a decade
The EU steel producers are jubilant about record profits, e.g. ArcelorMittal, and in return they announce on the same day via their lobby organization EUROFER what a bad state the steel sector is in and that Safeguard urgently needs to be extended.
EUROFER: “Steel sector in poor shape. Extend Safeguard!”
Thorsten Gerber, CEO of the Gerber Group, had this to say: “Axel Eggert says: Steel industry is in a bad shape. His employer ArcelorMittal: Hold my Beer!”
We’ll go into more detail later today on the announcements from EUROFER and its member companies, the European steelmakers.
Out now: EU steelmakers: caught between record profits and doom
Source: yahoo.com, spglobal.com
Hundreds of US companies call on President Biden to end Section 232 Tariffs
After the European downstream industry has already been demanding an end to the Safeguard measures from the European Commission for months – and simply being ignored by the EU, the discussion has now also gained momentum in the United States.
Manufacturing sector is calling for an end to the Section 232 tariffs
More than 300 companies from the manufacturing sector are calling for an end to the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum still in place by President Trump. They are led by the Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, the National Foreign Trade Council and other groups representing steel and aluminum-using U.S. companies.
Lead times for steel in the USA at 16-20 weeks
The letter provided an overview of the dire supply situation confronting manufacturers and explained the challenges created by the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs.
“Many of us are accustomed to four to six-week delivery times for common steel products. Now we receive delivery quotes for 16-20 weeks with some products not promised for delivery until 2022.” the letter continues.
Source: tariffsaretaxes.org
Read also:
- Stainless Espresso: Scrap, iron ore and nickel continue upward trend
- Stainless Espresso: The extraordinary global steel market
- Stainless Espresso: EU steel producers with January 2022 lead times
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Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
