Our friends at Wheatland Tube have compiled a Steel and Market update for August, with the key piece of information being that Steel prices remain at record high level. See below for a breakdown.
Underlying Fundamentals
- Rising Input Cost
- Lead Times Extended to 5-8 Weeks
- Record High Transport Cost (due to driver shortages, click here for more info). Freight cost continues to climb +57%
Import Update
- Department of Commerce assessing heaving duties on hot-roll (pipe) and cold-roll (conduit) steel coils on Vietnam to circumvent China
- Zinc & Aluminum Price Trends Up
- The Section 232 Ruling (25% tariff on import steel products, read more here)
- U.S. Mills Continue to hold prices firm at record high levels
- General tariffs on Chinese products
- Section 301 –U.S. puts 25% tariffs on $50B worth of imports from China
- Additional 10% Tariff on $200B in Imports from China
- UPDATE: New Steel tariffs on Turkey
End Markets
- Nonresidential construction is up 4% this year
- Automotive demand is slightly below last year’s
Click here to listen to the full August 2018 Steel Insights.