Data: SHFE, DCE market movement (May 07)

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR) has announced a temporary suspension of its steel and rolled product manufacturing for at least four days, starting May 5, 2026, due to critical damage to the railway infrastructure connecting the plant to Black Sea ports. The logistics bottleneck, caused by repeated strikes on the Odesa-Chornomorsk bridge, has paralyzed the export of iron ore concentrate and finished steel, forcing the company to idle Blast Furnace No. 6. While the plant aimed for a 2026 production target of 5.3 million metric tons (mt) of iron ore concentrate and 3.8 million mt of crude steel, this disruption threatens to tighten the supply of long products in the European and North African markets.

The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the preliminary results of its administrative review of the antidumping (AD) duty order on large diameter welded pipe from India for the period of May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024. The DOC preliminarily found that Welspun Corp Limited and its affiliates did not sell the subject merchandise at less than normal value, assigning a dumping margin of 0.00%. Additionally, the review was rescinded for 12 other Indian companies as they had no reviewable shipments during the period. This preliminary zero-margin finding for a major producer suggests a potential easing of trade barriers for specific Indian pipe exports, though final results are pending.

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) reported that US steel mills shipped 7.74 million net tons in March 2026, marking a 10.9% increase from the 6.98 million net tons shipped in February, though down 0.6% compared to March 2025. Total shipments for the first quarter of 2026 reached 21.82 million net tons, a 1.6% decrease year-on-year. Specifically, shipments of corrosion-resistant steel rose by 12%, cold rolled sheets by 11%, and hot rolled sheets by 6% compared to the previous month. The significant monthly rebound indicates a seasonal recovery in manufacturing and construction demand, though the slight year-on-year decline suggests the market is still adjusting to broader economic cooling compared to the previous year.