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Steel Imports News

19 Apr 2022

Port Houston Reports 20% Cargo Increase

(Photo: Port Houston)

Container volume at Port Houston in March totaled 308,557 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs). That brings the total for just the first three months of 2022 to 903,383 TEUs, an increase of 20% year-to-date over last year’s record year.“Port Houston is constantly evaluating growth within the industry and developing innovative solutions to accommodate that growth,” Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther said. “We know that velocity of goods is of the utmost importance to our customers and we continue to evaluate our procedures and infrastructure to improve efficiency.”In March…

13 Jan 2022

China 2021 Iron Ore Imports Retreat from Record on Steel Curbs

© masterskuz55 / Adobe Stock

China's iron ore imports dropped in 2021, down 4.3% from the previous year's record annual high, as steel production curbs imposed to combat pollution dented demand and pulled prices of the key steelmaking material off historical highs.The world's top iron ore consumer brought in 1.12 billion tonnes of the commodity last year, compared with 1.17 billion tonnes imported in 2020, data from the General Administration showed on Friday.For December, China imported 86.07 million tonnes of the raw material…

20 Oct 2021

Port Houston's Container Surge Continues

(Photo: Port Houston)

Port Houston recorded its seventh consecutive month of double-digit container volume growth as increased consumer spending continues in the U.S.Container activity for September 2021 was 281,500 TEUs, up 11% compared to the same month last year, the port said. Year-to-date, TEUs are up 16% compared to 2020.Port Houston said its steel imports are also up, increasing 161% this month compared to September 2020 and are up 28% year-to-date. This growth reflects increased activity in the energy industry.

20 Jul 2021

Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System Sees Surge in Construction Material Shipments

Credit: james_pintar/AdobeStock

U.S. Great Lakes ports and the St. Lawrence Seaway have experienced a rise in cargo shipments to feed domestic construction and manufacturing activity and global export demand, according to the latest June figures.The Great Lakes-Seaway System serves a region that includes eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, and is seen as a marine highway that extends 2,300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, supporting more than 237,868 jobs and $35 billion in economic activity.If the region were a country…

07 May 2021

China's Iron Ore Imports in April Drop Due to Bad Weather

Credit: AytugAskin/AdobeStock

China's iron ore imports fell 3.5% in April from a month earlier, official customs data showed on Friday, as shipments to the world's top iron ore consumer from major suppliers were disrupted by inclement weather.Arrival volumes of the steelmaking ingredient stood at 98.57 million tonnes last month, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.That compared with imports of 102.11 million tonnes in March and 95.71 million tonnes in April 2020."Shipments from Australia declined recently due to a cyclone in early April…

09 Nov 2020

China October Iron Ore Imports Dip

© masterskuz55 / Adobe Stock

China’s iron ore imports slipped 1.7% in October from a month earlier, but still hovered well above 100 million tonnes, official customs data showed on Saturday, propped up by firm demand at Chinese mills and shipments from major miners.The world’s top iron ore consumer imported 106.74 million tonnes of the steelmaking ingredient in October, 14.9% more than in October 2019, but still below the 108.55 million tonnes brought in during September, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.For the first 10 months of 2020…

16 Jul 2020

US Great Lakes Ports See Mixed Impacts from COVID-19

Fraserborg loading wheat bound for Italy at the Riverland Ag Corp. terminal in Duluth, Minnesota, on June 15, 2020. (Photo: Duluth Seaway Port Authority)

U.S. Great Lakes ports reported mixed results in June with aluminum, road salt and grain shipments holding strong despite the coronavirus pandemic, while shipments of commodities related to steel production and manufacturing have continued to slide.Additionally, the St. Lawrence Seaway reported that from April 1 to June 30, nearly 11.7 million metric tons of cargo was shipped via the bi-national trade corridor. While these volumes were down 8% compared to the same time period in 2019, cargo shipments improved in June narrowing the year-over-year decline.Craig H.

21 Nov 2019

Swiss Chide EU Over Steel Import Curbs

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Switzerland criticized on Thursday measures the European Union has adopted to curb steel imports amid a global trade spat, saying they harmed the Swiss steel industry.The European Commission last month revised safeguard measures introduced in July 2018 and decided to reduce the annual increase in quota volumes, the government said in a summary of talks on the status of a bilateral free trade deal. "These changes threaten to further restrict bilateral steel trade between Switzerland and the EU and harm the Swiss steel industry…

13 Mar 2019

Ports of Indiana: Big Successes, with Big Projects in the Wings

Vanta Coda, CEO at Indiana Ports

For Indiana’s state-established, but autonomous Ports of Indiana, 2018 was a record setting year, both for system-wide numbers and among the three individual Ports. These consist of Burns Harbor, on Lake Erie; Jeffersonville, on the Ohio, across from Louisville, KY; and Mount Vernon, also on the Ohio River, about 140 miles downriver from Jeffersonville.Not only were actual numbers robust, but Port officials reported “unprecedented tonnage increases” within the three-port system.

17 Jan 2019

EU Takes Aim at Turkish Steel Sector Buckling Under Trump Tariffs

The European Commission's move to extend its steel import restrictions threatens to force Turkish mills, already buckling under the weight of U.S. tariffs, to cut production further or in some cases close down, sources said.The Commission said on Wednesday it will extend and beef up its existing "safeguard" steel import caps until July 2021 to counter concerns that European Union markets are being flooded with steel no longer being exported to the United States.For Turkey's vast steel sector, the fourth largest contributor to the country's economy, the caps could prove particularly painful as the EU has given it additional "country-specific" quotas.Under the safeguards…

22 Oct 2018

Mexico Hopes to Reach Deal on Steel with US, Canada Soon

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Mexican Deputy Economy Minister Rogelio Garza said on Monday that the government was very confident that it would soon reach a deal with the United States and Canada over steel tariffs.The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on steel imports in June, citing national security reasons. Canada followed with tariffs on a range of steel products earlier this month.Reporting by Sharay Angulo; writing by Julia Love

31 May 2018

Canada to Impose Tariffs on US, Challenge at WTO

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Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs on C$16.6 billion ($12.8 billion) worth of U.S. exports and challenge U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization (WTO), Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday.The Canadian tariffs are set to go into effect on July 1, 2018, and stay in place until the U.S. lifts its own measures, Freeland said, hours after the United States said it would impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada…

31 May 2018

US Hits EU, Canada and Mexico with Steel, Aluminum Tariffs

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The United States on Thursday said it will impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, reigniting investor fears of a global trade war as Washington's allies took steps to retaliate against U.S. goods.The move, announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a telephone briefing on Thursday, ended months of uncertainty about potential tariff exemptions and suggested a hardening of the Trump administration's approach to trade negotiations.It also sent a chill through financial markets…

25 May 2018

U.S. Allies Facing Steel Import Quotas Could Be Worse Off

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U.S. government moves to negotiate steel import quotas with its allies in exchange for tariff exemptions could leave them worse off than countries who have to pay the levy.Washington set tariffs of 25 percent on U.S. steel imports in March, but has since granted the European Union, Canada and Mexico temporary exemptions until June 1.It has also agreed permanent exemptions for Brazil, Australia, Argentina and South Korea in return for quotas.South Korea, for example, agreed to quotas restricting its steel sales to the United States by 30 percent…

23 May 2018

India Takes U.S. Steel Tariffs Complaint to the WTO

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India has launched a complaint against the United States to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium, a filing published by the World Trade Organization showed on Wednesday.Indian officials told Reuters last month that their government would open a WTO dispute if the country's firms were not granted an exemption.Trump imposed the tariffs in March, levying 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminium. He said they were justified by national security concerns and therefore outside the WTO's remit.India…

30 Apr 2018

Canada's PM: US Steel, Aluminum Tariffs a 'Very Bad Idea'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said any move by the United States to impose tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum would be a "very bad idea" guaranteed to disrupt trade between the two nations.Trudeau told reporters in Vancouver he was confident the administration of President Donald Trump understood that such tariffs would hurt jobs in the United States as well as Canada.Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum in March but granted temporary exemptions to Canada and Mexico that run out on May 1. Canada is the biggest supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States."We have been discussing this with the U.S.

11 Apr 2018

Huntington Ingalls Says Steel Tariffs Won't Raise Prices for Now

Newport News Shipbuilding is currently building the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) for the U.S. Navy (Photo: John Whalen / HII)

Huntington Ingalls Industries, the largest shipbuilder for the U.S. government, said new tariffs on steel and aluminum should not impact the price of its own shipbuilding in the near-term, but does not know if tariffs will raise prices for its suppliers. Huntington's Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia has a multi-year financial agreement that guarantees steady pricing for its steel, known as a hedge, Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia, told reporters on Tuesday at the Sea Air Space Exposition in National Harbor, Maryland.

04 Apr 2018

Multipurpose Shipping Eyes Recovery -Drewry

(File photo: MSC)

The multipurpose shipping market, including the breakbulk and project cargo sectors, has struggled over the last few years, but conditions are ripe for recovery, according to a recent report from shipping consultancy Drewry. A strong start to 2018 in the multipurpose shipping segment is expected to continue as the sector’s recovery advances further on increasing demand, contracting vessel supply and shrinking threats from competing sectors, Drewry reported in the latest edition of its Multipurpose Forecaster and Annual Review.

29 Mar 2018

Shipping Industry Confidence at Four-Year High

Shipping confidence reached a four-year high in the three months to end-February 2018, according to the latest Shipping Confidence Survey from international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens. The average confidence level expressed by respondents was up from 6.2 out of 10.0 in November 2017 to 6.4 this time. Confidence on the part of owners was also at a four-year high, up from 6.4 to 6.6, while managers’ confidence was up too, from 6.1 to 6.4. The rating for charterers, however, continued its recent erratic performance – down to 5.0 from 7.7 in November 2017, but up on the 4.7 recorded in August 2017. Confidence on the part of brokers, meanwhile, was down from 6.3 to 6.1.

21 Mar 2018

Record-size US Offshore Oil Lease Sale Draws Modest Bidding

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Oil and gas drillers bid modestly on Gulf of Mexico acreage in the largest lease sale in American history on Wednesday, dealing a setback to the Trump administration's efforts to rapidly pump up investment in the region. The Interior Department had offered up a record 77 million acres (31.2 million hectares) for development in the Gulf with discounted royalty rates on the shallower tracts as part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump's administration to ramp up U.S. fossil fuels output.

08 Mar 2018

Trump: Some Country's Tariffs May 'Go Up or Down'

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was sticking to his plans for 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports but would have flexibility to change those for specific countries. "I'm sticking with 10 and 25 (percent) initially. I'll have a right to go up or down, depending on the country, and I'll have a right to drop out countries or add countries," he told reporters at the beginning of a Cabinet meeting at the White House. Trump said he would be fair and flexible on the issue while protecting American workers. The president's plans have irritated U.S. allies and sparked concerns about a trade war.   Reporting by Jeff Mason

01 Mar 2018

Trump's Steel Import Tariffs May Hurt US LNG Exports

© Wojciech Wrzesień / Adobe Stock

U.S. natural gas trade groups said on Thursday they are concerned that new U.S. steel import tariffs could delay or reduce new pipeline projects as well as dent exports of liquefied natural gas. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States will impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on imported aluminum next week. The type of pipe and the steel used to make large diameter, thick-walled pipe used for interstate natural gas pipeline projects are niche products that are not available off the shelf or even from a wide variety of manufacturers…

01 Mar 2018

Trump to Set Hefty Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Imports

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U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum, in a move the administration said would protect U.S. industry, but which critics said would fail to boost jobs and risked stoking a trade war with China. Trump, speaking after a meeting with U.S. steel and aluminum makers said the duties would be formally announced next week. “We’re going to build our steel industry back and our aluminum industry back," he said. News of the tariffs drove the stocks of U.S.