It was another busy week in the world of metals and metal-using sectors.
Among this week’s major developments were an executive shakeup at Ford, aluminum prices on the rise in China and a U.S. steel sector seeing capacity utilization gains week by week.
In the U.S., various states continue to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout.
U.S. auto sales, for example, have showed signs of recovery. That recovery, however, appeared to take a breather in July.
Meanwhile, U.S. steel restarted a blast furnace at its Gary Works over the weekend in response to increased demand. In that vein, metals buyers should continue to keep an eye on subsequent announcements from mills, whether related to restarts or production idling, as the year progresses.
Speaking of buyers, the MetalMiner 2021 Forecasting Workshop next week will feature a wealth of insights related to buying strategies. Participants will hear from MetalMiner experts about how to mitigate volatility and put their industrial buying organization on strong financial footing. In addition, the MetalMiner team will showcase MetalMiner’s steel and aluminum “should-cost” models.
The workshop — held virtually via Zoom this year — is scheduled for 10 a.m.-1 p.m. (CDT), Thursday, Aug. 13.
So, those interested in more information can visit the workshop page for additional details on the event and to access the event registration form.
For additional metals news and analysis, make sure to subscribe to MetalMiner’s free e-newsletter, Gunpowder, the next installment of which will be released early next week. The biweekly e-newsletter includes price trend updates, metals-specific analysis, and updates on MetalMiner events and offerings.
But before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner.
MetalMiner Week in Review, Aug. 3-7
- Aluminum prices have made strong gains in China, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns explained.
- The United States International Trade Commission opted to maintain existing anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from several countries.
- The U.S. steel sector’s capacity utilization rate rose to 59.3% for the week ending Aug. 1.
- Strong fundamentals have powered the rise of the tin price.
- The recovery of U.S. automotive sales took a pause in July.
- Indian steel company CEOs see some signs for optimism, even in spite of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on domestic steel demand.
- The MetalMiner 2021 Forecasting Workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 13.
- U.S. construction spending through the first half of the year rose 5% year over year.