Steel Market Update participates in conference calls with steel analysts from time to time in order to provide insights into steel prices, steel inventories and demand as well as the steel market trends we see during our analysis of the steel market Read more ...

Steel Market Update was surprised earlier this week by a number of trend changes we found in our SMU Market Survey. Steel prices continue to rise - albeit at a much slower rate than a couple of weeks ago. But, our SMU Buyers Sentiment meter reading and the trend to restock inventories appear to have reversed course Read more ...

Steel Buyers are feeling the strain caused by lack of demand and price increases which some are finding difficult to pass along to their customers. We have not been dealing with the issue of passing on price increases as a negative factor in any of our surveys for quite some time. Margin constriction appears to be gaining strength and causing the SMU Buyers Sentiment meter to drop from its highest level since we began measuring Sentiment two weeks ago to our latest SMU Buyers Sentiment meter reading which now is -29.1% Read more ...

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released their report on the manufacturing sector of the U.S. economy this morning. Overall, manufacturing activity is being reported as having expanded for the sixth consecutive month while the overall economy grew for the ninth consecutive month. This is considered good news for the U.S. flat rolled steel industry and steel prices Read more ...

Jim Bouchard [Esmark] went to Haiti with a plane full of medical supplies and returned Monday with 102 orphans Read more ...

SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment improved over the past two weeks and our Meter is now at -21.6% which is 10.6 points better than our reading of two weeks ago and it is the most optimistic level we have seen since we began measuring Sentiment in November 2008. Our SMU Future Sentiment Reading continued its optimistic trend measuring +16.4% although this is 7.9 points lower than our reading calculated two weeks ago.

Steel Market Update Helps Save Dawson County, Georgia $14.5 Million

Over the course of a day, week or month – Steel Market Update (SMU) is involved in many facets of the steel business. This includes working with our local community as they prepared to build a new 30-million dollar government center & courthouse. Working with the County Manager, Kevin Tanner – SMU took on an advisory role by assisting the county with steel and construction related pricing trends. We also assisted the county in making recommendations for the timing of the bidding process and with the timing for concluding the negotiations and signing of the contract. The contract was recently signed and the county has advised its citizens of a savings of $14.5 million out of the original $30 million budgeted.

SMU Buyers Sentiment Meter Reading at -32.2% for the week of January 4, 2009.

Steel Market Update (SMU) has been conducting our Steel Market Survey as of Monday of this week. Our results are showing the SMU Buyers Sentiment Meter reading to be -32.2% which is slightly more pessimistic than the -29% recorded a few weeks ago in our last Market Survey. We have been measuring Buyers Sentiment for slightly more than a year so we can now start to make comparisons against past readings. Our late December/early January reading one year ago was -71.3% - where we are today is significantly more optimistic than where we were one year ago. Read more ...

Steel Market Update conducts market surveys on a regular basis - approximately every other week with some adjustments for holidays. Our survey is by invitation only and approximately 700 companies are currently invited. They are essentially evenly split between manufacturing companies and service centers with a few mills, trading companies and toll processors thrown in to provide market balance. However, our focus is on the core customers - manufacturers and service centers. Read more ...

Steel Market Update conducts a Market Survey of the flat rolled steel industry approximately every other week. We invite 700 companies - equally split between manufacturing companies and service centers with a few trading companies, mills and toll processors thrown in to round out the field. Our survey is by invitation only as we try to utilize information from qualified buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel.

In last Friday’s SMU we published a letter from a trading company who was critical of us for providing pricing transparency to steel buyers and questioned the need for SMU to provide so much information to our members. As the dialogue progressed with the trading company, they came to the conclusion they could not stop what has already begun and that perhaps SMU was being responsible to the needs of the steel community – buyers and sellers alike.

Some Background

Steel Market Update (SMU) originally started as a way to compliment my direct sales efforts and to communicate with my customers during my active sales career. I felt everyone – small, medium and large companies with whom I did business deserved to be treated fairly and they were entitled to the best information about the flat rolled steel market I could muster Read more ...

Steel Market Update conducts a market survey every other week. Our survey is by invitation only to active buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel products within North America. Our invitation is sent to close to 700 companies - both manufacturers and service centers with a smattering of mills, trading companies and toll processors to get the full flavor of the market.

Steel Market Trends...

Our intention is to track trends - market momentum, Buyers Sentiment, inventory trends, purchasing trends, pricing trends and the general overall mood of the market. We keep track of the results and publish many of the items in our newsletter and on our website.

This week our SMU Buyers Sentiment was measured and we are reporting it to be -47% which is essentially unmoved from two weeks ago when we found it to be -45%. Those involved in the flat rolled business continue to remain negative about their companies position and the state of the steel markets.

Any Buyers Sentiment reading below 0 indicates buyers and sellers are not confident in their companies ability to grow their business in the current environment. So far this year, Buyers Sentiment has not reached into positive territory and the worst readings were achieved back in March at -85.4%.

Pricing momentum continues to trend lower this week as prices have declined on all products SMU indexes - hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume. Read more ...

Every other week, Steel Market Update (SMU)conducts a market survey by invitation only. We invite slightly more than 700 active companies who either purchase, sell, produce, trade or toll process flat rolled steel products - hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume in sheet or coil form. Read more ...

The following article was published by Recycling Today after attending the ISRI commodity conference in Chicago this past week. Steel Market Update participated in the ferrous roundtable portion of the conference and here is what Recycling Today had to say about our discussion:

While American manufacturing and steelmaking activity remains sluggish, the rest of the world continues to place significant orders for ferrous scrap. Read more ...

Welcome to the Steel Market Update brand new website. It seems like we have been working on getting this site up for years when in reality it has taken but a few months. I want to take the opportunity to introduce interesting items which can be found on our new site.