MEPS's new Market in Minutes podcast explores how challenges faced by Europe’s steelmakers and automotive manufacturers will raise the stakes in annual steel contract price negotiations between the two sectors in the coming months.
The latest episode sees Professor David Bailey, professor of business economics at the University of Birmingham’s Birmingham Business School, Jato Dynamics global automotive analyst Felip Munoz, and MEPS head of research Stuart Gray share their insight with MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe.
Among the topics explored in MEPS’s European automotive-themed episode of Speaking of Steel are:
Investment in Central Europe’s defence, energy and automotive sectors is unlikely to significantly increase prices in steel’s spot market, MEPS’s latest Market in Minutes podcast reveals.
MEPS’s International Steel Review reported that recent GDP forecasts positioned Poland as the EU’s fastest growing economy.
However, research lead Chris Jackson says that any recovery in steel prices is likely to be modest and incremental amid continued low spot market demand. Jackson, who shares the findings of MEPS research with managing editor Tom Sharpe in the new episode, said:
“Military and energy aside, companies engaged in commercial sales and day-to-day-spot business may not be reaping the rewards that are projected for those industries.”Featured among the topics covered in this Central Europe-themed episode of the Market in Minutes podcast series are:Encouraging economic indicators: defence, energy and automotive show signs of promise. Subdued spot market demand continues to stall any steel price recovery Rising production: growing capacity utilisation at Huta
Steel market analysts Adam Crookes and Jon Carruthers-Green joined MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe to reflect on key industry topics that will be discussed at the annual event, held at the NEC Birmingham, on September 10-11, in the latest episode of MEPS’s Speaking of Steel podcast.
The 20-minute episode is available via YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts and covers:
MEPS’s head of price analysis and forecasts, Kaye Ayub, will host panel discussions on the carbon steel and stainless steel markets, at next week's UK Metal Expo. Each will feature a panel of four industry experts, as previously reported by MEPS.
Furthermore, a team of MEPS researchers will be available on stand B44, throughout the event, to discuss steel prices and market forecasts with attendees.
MEPS International’s latest Market in Minutes podcast heard that steel demand was “nowhere near” US market participants’ earlier expectations, during August.
US steel market analyst, Laura Hodges, drew on research conducted for MEPS’s International Steel Review to summarise the nation’s steel market, its key price trends and outlook in the new 12-minute episode.
Hodges said that steel supply was plentiful, with domestic steelmakers’ utilisation rates were trending close to 80% and imports remaining above two million tonnes per month, despite 50% Section 232 steel tariffs.
However, speaking to MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe, she added: “You get the sense, speaking to MEPS research partners, that demand is just ‘okay’ and certainly not anywhere near where they thought it would be at the start the year.”
MEPS’s Internationals Steel Review recorded prices down for all flat steel products, in the US, during August. A less negative trend was recorded for flat products. Despite the recent decline, Hodges said that prices are likely to trend low during the remainder of 2025."
Cost-conscious steel buyers will not pay more for low-emissions green steel at a time when many industry sectors remain in slowdown, MEPS International’s latest podcast heard.
The new ‘Green Steel Survey Special’ episode of the Speaking of Steel podcast explores feedback from stockists and buyers from across the world who were asked to define their participation in the market for low-emissions steel during the steel market insight provider's recent survey.
MEPS’s head of price analysis and forecasts, Kaye Ayub, and market analyst Jon Carruthers-Green joined managing editor Tom Sharpe for the debate.
“It’s clear from the responses to the MEPS Green Steel Survey that certain industry sectors are starting to prioritise the use of low-emissions material in certain countries, but it’s also clear that there is a long way to go,” said Sharpe.
Among the questions addressed in this episode of the MEPS Speaking of Steel podcast are:
MEPS International’s latest Market in Minutes podcast explores the reasons why Southern Europe’s steel prices continued their recent decline in June, and how the trend is making the market increasingly "scary" for stockists.
Steel market analyst Benedicte Mikolajczak joined MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe to reflect on her research among steel market participants in Italy and Spain, which featured in this month’s European Steel Review. The 12-minute podcast episode – part of MEPS’s Speaking of Steel podcast series – also shares insight into the outlook for the region’s steel supply, demand and prices.
Among the topics discussed in MEPS's latest Market in Minutes podcast are:
Overcapacity will continue to apply downward pressure to global steel prices regardless of stringent US import tariffs, trade defence measures or steelmakers’ production cuts, according to a new MEPS podcast.Head of prices and forecasts, Kaye Ayub, data lead Ewan Gilfillan and steel market analyst Jon Carruthers-Green join MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe for the latest instalment of the Speaking of Steel podcast.
"Overcapacity is going to be an issue for the next five, 10, 15 years,” Carruthers-Green said in the podcast, entitled "Overcapacity risks ‘race to the bottom’ on steel prices".He added: “This is not going away quickly unless there are big announcements and what that would mean is lots of job losses and lots of plants closing down.”
Steelmakers’ production cuts are failing to support sales prices in Northern Europe amid weak demand and plentiful supply, according to insight shared in a new MEPS podcast episode.In the latest instalment from MEPS’s Market in Minutes series, steel market analyst Stuart Gray said that producers were attempting to achieve “equilibrium” between supply and demand in the region, but added: “At the moment, we don't find that's working”.The 12-minute “Steelmakers’ cuts fail to support North Europe prices” podcast explores the effect of revised EU import safeguard measures, US import tariffs and governments' attempts to stimulate economic growth on the region's steel prices.
UK Steel director general Gareth Stace says that government must create a “competitive business environment” for domestic steelmakers after it stepped in to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe operations.
Stace is interviewed by MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe as part of this episode of the Speaking of Steel podcast, entitled ‘Can British Steel succeed in tough UK market?’.
MEPS steel market analysts Jon Carruthers-Green and Chris Jackson also discuss recent changes at the UK steelmaker, which came under government control in April.
In this episode of Speaking of Steel, the MEPS team discuss the developments that led to that historic move. It also considers:
The United States’ recent surge in steel prices has stalled as many businesses feel “paralysed” by uncertainty about import tariffs, according to MEPS’s new podcast.
Speaking to MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe in a short-form Market in Minutes episode of the Speaking of Steel podcast, US steel market analyst Laura Hodges said: “I hate to say the word paralysed, but companies cannot plan ahead with this type of uncertainty.
“As for the outlook, we actually have prices continuing that ‘breather’ for the next couple of months, primarily just due to the uncertainty. I think that prices are going to sit in this holding pattern in May and into June. After that I think we see prices start to fall back.”
MEPS International’s latest Speaking of Steel podcast debates revisions to the European Commission's steel import safeguard measures and the further trade defence measures that might follow.
Recorded as the new rules came into force, the new episode details the changes that were implemented from April 1 and draws on MEPS’s research to consider market participants’ responses. It also considers the potential influence of further trade defence measures proposed in the Commission’s Steel and Metals Action plan.
Market analyst Jon Carruthers-Green said that certain steel supply “pinch points” could emerge as a result of the new caps applied to exporting nations’ use of the “other countries” quota category for various steel products. He said that the new restrictions on tariff-free imports had been determined by “how severely the import pressure was assessed to be”.
“For hot rolled coil, that actually has been dropped down to 13% (from 15%), but then it’s also been introduced for cold rolled coil, plate, rebar and even on some stainless products now”, said Carruthers-Green.
Fellow steel market analyst Chris Jackson said European steel buyers’ uncertainty about steel imports, which resulted from speculation about the possible changes, had not reduced following their implementation.
He said: “Buyers were taking a step back, adopting a wait and see approach and keeping their order placement to a minimum.
“Now we’re in that post-announcement phase you’re starting to see some new trends emerge, but we’ve certainly got that feeling that imports come with an element of risk.”
Among the topics discussed in this latest episode of the Speaking of Steel podcast are:
The North American steel market has been reset by the blanket reintroduction of Section 232 import tariffs, the latest MEPS podcast has heard.
Reflecting on the results of research conducted among market participants in the region, before and after the March 12 implementation of the 25% import tariff, the latest Speaking of Steel podcast suggests change has come quickly.
"We’re now seeing the reality of the situation emerge," said MEPS steel market analyst Chris Jackson.
The effect of 25% automotive import tariffs and the country-specific reciprocal tariffs announced by President Trump on April 2 were also discussed in the new Speaking of Steel podcast. Among the other topics of the North America-focussed podcast were:
European distributors have “pushed back” on domestic mills’ stainless steel price rises as weak demand continues to squeeze their profit margins, a new MEPS podcast reveals.
In this seven-minute episode from MEPS’s short ‘Market in Minutes’ podcast series steel market analyst Michelle Kirton shares insight into March’s increasingly subdued stainless steel market, which undermined mills’ attempts to realise higher prices.
“Uncertainty was the keyword in last month’s research in almost every region we research and that’s because of the US trade tariffs,” she said.
“While this won’t directly affect all the distributors and stockists [in Europe], it will affect end-users, and if they’re producing less and buying less steel that will have a knock-on effect.”
Also discussed in this month’s Market in Minutes podcast on the European stainless steel market are:
MEPS’s latest Speaking of Steel podcast considers whether EU decarbonisation policies promise to deliver a sustainable steel industry or risk raising the cost of production to uncompetitive levels.
Focused on the content of the European Commission's newly-published Clean Industrial Deal, the new podcast explores the key features of the new strategy to decarbonise EU industry by 2050.
Although many features of the deal are clearly designed to reduce emissions and increase efficiency, the road to greener production may raise steelmakers’ costs in the near-term, according to MEPS steel market analysts Jon Carruthers-Green.
“There is no global consensus on how to decarbonise the steel industry,” he said.
“This is something that Europe is leading on, so, of course there is going to be that risk of production elsewhere being a lot cheaper, because [overseas producers] can do it without these additional restrictions.”
Fellow steel market analyst Michelle Kirton joins Carruthers-Green and MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe to explore the possible effects of the Clean Industrial Deal on EU steelmakers’ profit margins and the price of steel.
Commenting on the contents of the Clean Industrial Deal and the implications of CBAM – a vital component of the EU’s plans to decarbonise industry – Kirton said: “It is quite clear from the contacts that we speak to that there are a lot of repercussions from all these green initiatives; the decarbonisation and the application of CBAM.
“Everything comes with a cost and when you're in an economy like we have at the minute, where stockists, traders and end-users are really struggling to make money, it is a hard time to be implementing things that will cost them more money.”
Among the various topics discussed in the latest instalment of MEPS’s Speaking of Steel podcast series, which is titles ‘Can EU’s Clean Deal deliver sustainable steel industry?’ are:
East Asia’s steel industry is hoping that China’s economic stimulus measures and United States import tariffs may boost the market after a slow post Lunar New Year restart.
MEPS market analyst Chris Jackson discussed the major issues facing the region as he shared insight from the latest International Steel Review in this month’s episode of the Market in Minutes podcast.
Jackson said: “The majority of steel consuming sectors in these countries are performing more weakly than anticipated. There’s little expectation of a demand recovery in the next six-to-12 months. But [the likes of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan] are looking at China very closely to see what will happen there and see if that might act as a catalyst for the short to medium term.”
Jackson also suggested that the blanket roll out of 25% import tariffs in the United States could level the playing field for exporters, presenting a “mouth watering opportunity” for some East Asian steel producers.
Part of MEPS’s regular Speaking of Steel podcast series, Market in Minutes delivers regular summaries of the key global steel markets researched by the steel market insight and price data provider.
The latest episode explores the influence of various factors on steel demand and prices in East Asia, while also providing a summary of the International Steel review’s six-month outlook for in the region.
President Donald Trump’s plan to levy 25% tariffs on all steel imports into the United States will reset the punitive rate enforced by Section 232 legislation in 2018, the Speaking of Steel podcast has heard.
An executive order signed by the President on February 10 set out plans to impose the tariff from March 12. This will effectively remove Section 232 exemptions for key trading partners Canada and Mexico, along with the tariff rate quotas (TRQs) of key trading partners such as the European Union, United Kingdom and Japan.
MEPS International’s steel market analysts Laura Hodges and Jon Carruthers-Green joined managing editor Tom Sharpe to debate the implication of the measures.
The Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine contributed to a German economic slowdown that underpins the steel industry’s fears of continued weak demand in 2025.
The latest episode of MEPS International’s Speaking of Steel podcast considers the role that the two events played in weakening Europe’s largest economy. The effect of the green transition on Germany’s steel industry and flagship automotive sector, and the collapse of its government, have further slowed its growth, with more uncertainty yet to come.
Research conducted forMEPS’sEuropean Steel Review reveals that participants in the German market now struggle to envisage a recovery. Speaking in the new Speaking of Steel podcast, MEPS steel market analyst Jon Carruthers-Green said: “Add some Donald Trump into the mix, and all the uncertainty he brings, and you’ve got to wonder whether, for this very fragile economy, this is another tipping point.”
Carruthers-Green joined fellow steel market analyst Stuart Gray and MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe for the recording of the latest Speaking of Steel podcast.
Gray believes that a resolution to Germany’s recent political issues may provide a stimulus for infrastructure investment in the second half of 2025, increasing steel demand. Revisions to the European Commission’s import safeguard measures could also restrict the influx of steel products into Europe from other parts of the world from April 1, further increasing sales opportunities.
“If you look at imports from last year, just below the 16 million tonne mark, maybe steel producers are eyeing that, to try and take some of that back”, said Gray.
“That could be something that they can take something from, in terms of [sales] volumes.”
Improving steel demand and reduced imports present upside risks to United States price forecasts recently downgraded as a result of a “higher for longer” outlook for interest rates.
MEPS International’s US steel market analyst Laura Hodges explored the various factors at play as she shared an overview of an eventful start to 2025 for the US steel market in the latest Market in Minutes podcast episode. The nine-minute episode draws on research for MEPS’s International Steel Review and the latest market developments.
Hodges told MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe that the country’s market had started as it finished 2024, with low demand supressing steel prices. However, she reported that “signs of life” began to appear in the month that included the inauguration of new US President Donald Trump. Plate prices registered an increase after 12 consecutive months of decline, during January, while wire rod prices rose by USD50 per short ton due to a loss of domestic supply and reduced imports, Hodges revealed.
She added: “The new administration, led by President Donald Trump, with fewer regulations, should also improve steel demand as we move into 2025.”
The latest episode from MEPS International’s Speaking of Steel podcast series explores the latest developments in Nippon Steel’s USD15 billion bid to acquire US Steel.
MEPS’s US steel market analyst Laura Hodges joined managing editor Tom Sharpe to discuss President Joe Biden’s recent blocking of the deal and the fallout that followed. The President’s ruling, on national security grounds, followed his consideration of the findings from a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) investigation into the takeover.
In the days that have followed, however, Nippon and US Steel have filed joint legal proceedings against the US Government in an attempt to keep the deal alive, as previously reported by MEPS.
In this ‘Speaking of Steel: What next for blocked Nippon-US Steel merger?’ episode from the Speaking of Steel podcast series, Hodges and Sharpe consider:
MEPS’s new ‘Market in Minutes’ podcast focuses on a Southern Europe steel sector where business models are changing amid the continued market slowdown.
Market analyst Benedicte Mikolajczak describes a steel supply chain that is “suffering the effects of an automotive sector slowdown” in the short-form episode, which is part of MEPS’s wider Speaking of Steel podcast series.
Mikolajczak summarised some of the latest findings from MEPS’s research in Italy and Spain in conversation with MEPS managing editor Tom Sharpe. Her insight draws on commentary on the region’s steel market, along with flat and long product prices, price indices and 12-month forecasts, which can be found in MEPS’s monthly European Steel Review.
The topics featured in December’s ‘Market in Minutes’ podcast were:
