As President Trump rolls out his trade policies, it’s the ideal time for a wholesale reconsideration and reframing of our trade law enforcement. Today’s efforts are fragmented, ineffective and extremely damaging, specifically to the industrial metals supply chain.

Transformation is underway at the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI; Rolling Meadows, IL) as the trade association wraps up a year-long visioning process. 

North American service center shipments of steel and aluminum products rebounded in May, gaining against both the previous month and the same month in 2016, according to the latest Metals Activity Report from the Metals Service Center Institute, Rolling Meadows, Ill. 

Deliveries of steel and aluminum products by North American metal service centers rose by double digits from April to May, largely reversing a similar decline during the previous month, and also maintaining a solid lead over the May 2016 levels. 

NEW YORK — Distributor steel shipments soared in May, while market participants noted general uncertainty about future demand and a pending Section 232 probe.

The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) supports the domestic steel industry’s petition for tighter import restrictions, and this in contrast to other steel-consuming industries arguing that tariffs would lead to job losses in the steel supply chain. 

In written testimony on NAFTA renegotiation, the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI), Rolling Meadows, Ill., explained how uniquely successful the pact has been for North American manufacturing and urged the Trump administration to upgrade, but not endanger, the more than $1 trillion annual trading relationship that NAFTA has established among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

In written testimony submitted to the U.S. Commerce Department, Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) President/CEO M. Robert Weidner argued global overcapacity and other unfair trading practices, particularly by China, have harmed the U.S. steel market.

Robert Lighthizer has gained Senate approval to assume the position as U.S. Trade Representative, a move that earned praise from metals industry trade groups such as MSCI and AISI. A long-time veteran of the trade wars, Lighthizer didn’t waste time getting settled into his new office.

U.S. service center shipments of steel and aluminum products continued their up-and-down year, declining in April compared to both the previous month and April 2016, according to the latest Metals Activity Report from the Metals Service Center Institute, Rolling Meadows, Ill.

North America’s metal service centers’ steel and aluminum shipments declined in April, by double-digit percentages from March, but more narrowly year-over-year. The decreases undid the gains posted in March, according to the Metals Service Center Institute.

According to estimates, service centers supply more than a quarter of the total steel in the United States. Service center inventory levels continue to fall in 2017. According to the Metals Service Center Institute, at current shipping rates, the service center steel inventory represents 2.3 months’ worth of supply.

The Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) released their April 2017 shipment and inventories data for the United States and Canada. The following is a recap of the U.S. data.

US service centers shipped 127,500 st of aluminum products in April, slipping 0.4% year on year, Metals Service Center Institute data showed Monday.

U.S. steel distributors saw daily shipment levels maintain momentum in April despite fewer shipping days during the month, while inventory levels remained lean.

The first 100 days of the Trump administration have seen a considerable easing of the regulatory burdens service centers and other businesses have operated under since the start of the Obama administration. Through a series of executive orders, the 45th president has put a freeze on new regulations, while taking significant steps toward rolling back others.

Metals service centers acquire primary metals such as steel, aluminum, brass, and alloy steel from metals producers (AKS). These service centers act as bridges between metals producers and end consumers.

MSCI President & CEO Bob Weidner and National Safety Council President & CEO Debbie Hersman discuss their new partnership and what it means for the metals industry.