Ferrous Department

U.S. STEEL IMPORTS ON THE INCREASE

The American Iron and Steel Institute, Washington, reports that the United States imported 10.7 million net tons of steel mill products during the first four months of 1997. This represents an increase of 37.6 percent from the same period last year. Information is based on a compilation of Commerce Department Data.

Steel imports from Russia soared during this period, with imports up 501.8 percent.

In April 1997, 2.7 million net tons were imported, a 24 percent increase from April 1996. This number also reflects an increase of 8.9 percent from March 1997 net imports, which were 2.5 million. Year-to-date imports represent 24.8 percent of apparent consumption, up from 19.8 percent in 1996.

Finished products made up 2.1 million net tons of the total April 1997 imports. This is a 29.6 percent increase from the 1.6 million net tons imported in April 1996 and an 8.6 percent increase from the 2 million net tons imported in March 1997. Finished products imported comprised 77.4 percent of the total imported in April, up from 74.1 percent in April 1996 and down from 77.6 percent in March 1997.

The U.S. exported 480,425 net tons of steel mill products in April 1997. This is a 21.4 percent increase from the 395,671 net tons exported in April 1996, though it is down 1.6 percent from the 488,088 net tons exported in March 1997. Year-to-date exports of 1.87 million net tons are 0.8 percent lower than the 1.89 million net tons exported in the same period during 1996.

AISI SURVEY REVEALS STRONG STEEL FUTURE

A market development committee of The American Iron and Steel Institute, Washington, recently completed an extensive survey assessing the commercial, industrial and institutional (CII) construction market for steel products. By determining market share and opportunity tonnage on a "steel-equivalent" basis," the survey revealed a growth opportunity of nearly 2 million tons in the CII steel industry. The document, called The Market Survey Report for Commercial, Industrial and Institutional Buildings, is available to AISI members.

SCRAP MARKETS SHOW MIXED SIGNALS

There are mixed reports about the state of mid-summer ferrous scrap markets. Several large scrap processors say that export orders have improved, while a number of other exporters feel the export market has been slumping.

On the West Coast, it is even more difficult to get a read on markets, as the export market is controlled by a handful of companies, including Schnitzer Steel Products Co., Oakland, Calif.; Hugo Neu Proler, Los Angeles; and Sims-LMC Recyclers, Richmond, Calif. A number of scrap processors say that the limited number of exporters has worked to reduce overall competition in the export market.

Indicative of the current market ambivalence, one mid-sized scrap processor on the West Coast says that the overall demand for ferrous scrap is stronger, with South Korean consumers looking to place more orders. Yet another trader with a large West Coast scrap processing company says that, in fact, exports have been softening. The trader notes that both shredded and cut grades are down, with expectations that exporters would be off for the next several weeks at the earliest.

The overall domestic ferrous scrap market continues to strengthen, with sources throughout the country noting stronger markets and improved demand allowing for steadier movement of material. Domestic demand remains strong, allowing for better movement of material. But the on-again/off-again problem with gondola car availability is an ongoing challenge for many processors.

Downtime could also start to have an impact on shipments later this summer, as some steel mills in the United States and Europe may close for several weeks. This could reduce the demand for material, at least temporarily.

But even with slower operating schedules at domestic steel mills, the expectation is that markets will remain fairly stable through the next several months.

IPSCO NEARS MINIMILL START UP

IPSCO Inc. has started rolling saleable steel plate at its Muscatine, Iowa, steel minimill. The mill, with a rated capacity of 1.25 million tons per year, will be starting out slowly initially. IPSCO plans to pause after each production run, assess the finished product, make any necessary equipment and procedure changes, and only then continue with another production run. Officials predict a turnover of the full facility in the third quarter rather than late in the second quarter as initially planned.