Compounding steel buyers consternation is yet another drop in scrap prices. This is not unexpected and was anticipated by the scrap dealers. However, as many who attended Steel Success Strategies a couple of weeks ago know, there has been a debate within the scrap community (and those of us who cover scrap prices) as to where prices would ultimately settle and how they will impact flat rolled steel prices Read more ...

Severstal North America (NA) has been the latest mill to adjust (lower) their galvanized coating extras. The extras were “officially” revised on June 23, 2010 and can be found on their website. The new extras posted were for galvanized only. The Galvalume extras continue to be shown at the old numbers Read more ...

The steel market volatility has been growing over the past few years. Understanding steel price risk and how to hedge against steel pricing volatility is a growing concern in the North American steel industry Read more ...

Steel scrap prices on the east coast USA will be impacted by the recent purchase of scrap by the Turkish steel mills. Ultimately, flat rolled steel prices will be impacted as well Read more ...

Steel Market Update spent the last three days in New York City at the Steel Success Strategies conference. Below is a report we published in our newsletter earlier this week regarding World Steel Dynamics view of the steel world Read more ...

The Nikkei Business Daily (Japan) has reported BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have notified Japanese steelmakers of their intention to raise iron ore prices during the July through September quarter (3rd Quarter) approximately 23% Read more ...

The lack of scrap buying out of Turkey, China and Korea has impacted domestic scrap prices in early May as prices are reported to be stable in the Midwest to down as much as $30 per long ton on the coast according to Steel Market Update scrap sources Read more ...

Flat rolled steel prices tend to follow scrap prices. Steel Market Update has noted steel prices as moving lower over the past week and now early indications are for scrap prices to move lower to sideways depending on where you are in the U.S. Read more ...

Steel Market Update is currently conducting our bi-monthly steel market survey so we may better understand both flat rolled steel prices as well as any changes in trends and momentum. One item which will be of importance to hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume prices this week is scrap prices Read more ...

Essar Steel Algoma (Canada) has notified their iron pellet supplier Cliffs Natural Resources of their intention to take a pricing dispute to arbitration. The steel mill advised Steel Market Update (SMU) this action will allow for Cliffs to continue to send iron ore to Algoma so there is no interruption in their steel making process Read more ...

TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- Some Japanese steel makers have agreed to a further hike in the price of coking coal for the July-September quarter, people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday, which is likely to increase cost pressures for automakers and other major steel buyers Read more ...

Nucor is the first mill to react to the dropping zinc prices by advising their customers late on Friday of their intention to revise their galvanized coating weight extras. In a letter from the various mill sales and marketing managers the mill told their customers their new coating extras will be in effect on all orders acknowledged to ship the week ending July 10, 2010 Read more ...

So far this week it has been quiet. All is quiet on the steel front as prices have either settled in at their new levels or, in the cases of cold rolled, may have actually tightened up a pinch. The scrap market has been quiet as well as we wait for mill buyers to determine their needs and make their next round of purchases which should happen next week Read more ...

Chinese steel mills have expressed their reluctance to accept iron ore prices of potentially 160 U.S. dollars per ton proposed by Vale and BHP in the third quarter, saying that the price hike will create carnage in the nation's steel industry Read more ...

As Steel Market Update has been reporting for some time, steel prices have reached a plateau, and there are even some signs of easing. This is clearly evident in the US, especially on the flat rolled side, but also in many areas overseas, including China Read more ...

Flat rolled steel prices have begun to move lower over the past couple of weeks. Earlier this week Steel Market Update changed our steel price momentum indicator from "neutral" to "lower" Read more ...

Steel Market Update has learned from our west coast steel sources that California Steel Industries (CSI) has rolled over (kept prices the same) their flat rolled steel prices from June production into July production Read more ...

On Friday, May 7, 2010 – The Nucor Sheet Metal Group of Nucor Steel informed their flat rolled steel contract customers the mill was lowering the June Raw Material Surcharge (RMS) by $15 per ton Read more ...

In an effort to clear up waters which may have become slightly “muddy” over the past couple of days SMU contacted a number of our contacts at Severstal NA to better understand their recent steel pricing change as it relates to their contract customers out of their Sparrows Point facility. Many in the trade press have begun calling the move an iron ore surcharge Read more ...

Another steel related newsletter suggested it was “normal” for collection of spot steel price increases to lag due to competitive pressures or resistance by end users. While SMU concedes some lag in spot price increases can vary from market to market - from our perspective those interested in flat rolled steel pricing trends have to look a little deeper as we try to evaluate the ability of today’s market to sustain upward price momentum and allow the domestic steel mills to continue to pass through price increases month after month Read more ...

Steel Market Update indexes hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steel coils on a weekly basis. Today we want to spend a little time explaining the nuances to steel mill pricing Read more ...

Reliance Steel & Aluminum - one of the largest, if not the largest steel service center group in North America reported their 1st Quarter earnings on Thursday of this week. During their conference call they expressed confidence in their ability to "pass through" all of the price increases announced so far this year Read more ...

We will call it a little friendly competition amongst west coast mills…a couple of months ago California Steel (CSI) announced a relatively minor price increase only to have U.S. Steel/Posco (UPI) roll prices (go to market with no new increases) thus forcing CSI to roll-back their increase. Since then the two mills did go to market in May with a $40 per ton price increase compared to April’s pricing (we are talking about their order book for April and May) Read more ...

Steel Market Update sources on the west coast of the United States have advised us USS/Posco also known as UPI has come out with a $100 per ton price increase on all flat rolled steel products for the month of June production Read more ...

Severstal North America (NA) has just informed their North American flat rolled steel non-contract (spot) customers of their intention to increase prices Read more ...

A Steel Market Update analysis of the six most recent AK Steel flat rolled steel price announcements and how they relate to scrap price movements. We use the Steel Market Update hot rolled steel index for our comparion Read more ...

As way predicted by Steel Market Update over the past couple of weeks - AK Steel announced late today of their intention to raise flat rolled steel prices by $40 per ton affective immediately on any new orders. The $2.00/cwt price increase is on all new hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and aluminized orders Read more ...

There is a tremendous amount of interest in the steel community as to how the recent annoucements of quarterly iron ore pricing will impact steel prices here in North America as well as around the world Read more ...

SMU sources are telling us to expect April scrap prices to be higher than March due to continued strong orders out of the domestic steel mills, Turkish mills paying the export price and competing for available scrap and sluggish in-flows of new scrap into the dealer’s yards. Higher scrap costs will mean higher flat rolled steel prices Read more ...

Media attention around the world is focused on what appears to be the forgone conclusion of the demise of the 40-year old annual benchmark pricing system. Industry sources in Brazil and Australia are leaking information indicating the Japanese steel mills (and Posco in Korea) have agreed to quarterly pricing somewhere around $110-$122 per metric ton for their ore during April, May and June 2010. The previous benchmark pricing was approximately $57 per metric ton so this agreement essentially doubles prices Read more ...

The Chinese have thrown their hands up in despair as Baosteel – the lead negotiator for the Chinese steel industry – has been unable to bring the iron ore negotiations to a conclusion. On Saturday ten Chinese steel mills petitioned Premier Wen Jiabao to intervene in the iron ore talks “as a matter of National importance.”

The iron ore mining companies – Rio Tinto, Vale and BHP Billiton – are asking for increases of 80-90 percent above the previously negotiated benchmark which expires on April 1st. Earlier this year steel and mining analysts as well as our market sources in China were projecting iron ore price increases of no more than 45%.

Last year the Chinese were unable to come to a resolution with the mining companies and balked at the deal negotiated by the Japanese mills. As a result many Chinese mills purchased iron ore on the spot market throughout the year. The decision to walk away from the bargaining table last year appears to be haunting the Chinese negotiations this year according to news sources out of China.

The Chinese steel mills feel if the mining companies get the approximately 80-90% increase they are looking for (just below current spot numbers) there will be consequences to the social fabric of China. Prices will have to be raised on automobiles, appliances, construction products and all downstream steel intensive industries.

In Europe they are crying foul just as loud as the Chinese. Eurofer (an industry group composed of ArcelorMittal SA, ThyssenKrupp AG and Corus Group PLC) claim iron ore price increases of 80-90 percent would have a significant impact on steel prices.

In an article published by Forbes the European companies claim higher iron ore costs will force steel prices up and potentially slow down Europe’s economic recovery or even push them back into recession. The mills complain the economy is not as strong as 2006-2008 which was the last time we saw a run up in raw materials. The mills have been unable to pass through all of the scrap and other input costs and higher iron ore costs will force the mills to feel the pain – unlike 2006-2008 when they were able to pass the costs on to their customers.

In an article in MetalMiner.com on Monday they pointed out it is not just the Big-3 Ore companies (Vale, BHP & Rio Tinto) but other mining companies are forcing prices higher. In South Africa ArcelorMittal largest iron ore supplier – Kumba Iron Ore – recently announced they its subsidiary Sishen Iron Ore is suspending shipments to ArcelorMittal South African operations on its long-term cost +3% contract due to a failure by AM to meet its obligations under the South African Mineral and Petroleum Development Resources Act. However, they would be willing to sell at the spot market prices….

North American steel producers are not as exposed (although they are not totally immune either) from the world iron ore spot prices and whatever the new benchmark prices may become. However, the higher iron ore prices on the world market coupled with higher scrap prices in our domestic market are preparing the way for more price increases in North America during 2010. (Source: SMU Asian sources, The Australian, Forbes, agMetalMiner.com)

John Anton, Director of Steel Services for IHS Global did not mince words in his opening statement – “I will put a stake in the ground. Prices will come down in the second half of this year for most carbon steel products.” Read more ...

Steel prices in the North American markets continued their move higher this week. Mills took offers for lower priced product off the table at the end of last week according to Steel Market Update sources. Many buyers are “non-believers” and do not think the new prices which are pushing $680-$700 on hot rolled, $800 for cold rolled and a galvanized base price around $800-$820 per ton Read more ...

Steel Market Update reviews steel prices in the North American market on a daily basis. Our indexes cover hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume pricing in the U.S. and Canada. Since our readers tend to be steel buyers we take the responsibility of being accurate very seriously Read more ...

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 ...

The Nucor Corporation increased prices by a “minimum” of $50 per ton on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel. The announcement was released to their customers late on Friday afternoon although individual plants had been informing their specific customers of the changes earlier during the week. SMU reported on the Berkeley base price adjustments on our blog on March 3, 2010 and in our newsletter on Thursday March 4th Read more ...

An internal memo to the Severstal sales force on Wednesday outlined the latest prices for spot flat rolled steel products out of the Severstal mills effective with new orders. Steel prices are up approximately $40 per ton compared to the mills last announcement Read more ...

Nucor Berkeley facility is leading the charge and has been telling customers this morning of their intention to collect higher prices on new hot rolled, cold rolled or galvanized steel orders Read more ...

In a move anticipated by Steel Market Update, AK Steel announced this evening an increase of $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) on all flat rolled sheet products. This increase will affect all new hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel orders Read more ...

Late Friday evening Steel Market Update received a number of messages from our contacts in Asia regarding the Chinese export markets and iron ore pricing. Our sources are telling us the Chinese mills have suddenly suspended providing export offers. Through contacts with a number of the largest steel mills in China the understanding is there will be an announcement some time this week of a settlement to the negotiations regarding the iron ore benchmark pricing Read more ...

Steel Market Update takes great effort to insure we have the most accurate data available when it comes to prime mill pricing for hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume products especially when price adjustments are being made. We understand – and our readers need to understand – the relationship between a mill and a customer is one on one. By this we mean not every customer receives the exact same price from a supplier and prices may vary even within individual mill facilities owned by one company Read more ...

Earlier today Nucor came out with a $40 per ton price increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized sheet steel. As the day wore on and more information has become available to Steel Market Update our understanding is there is a spread of pricing out of the Nucor mills. By this we mean not all customers and not all mills are receiving the same base prices on each product Read more ...

Nucor announced this morning a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) across the board price increase on flat rolled steel products out of all of their flat rolled mills Read more ...

West Chester, OH, February 15, 2010—AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that it will increase spot market base prices by $50 per ton, effective immediately with all new orders for its carbon steel products. AK Steel said that the price increase is in response to increased demand for carbon steel products, as well as the need to recover higher costs. Read more ...

We were somewhat surprised with this past week’s Market Survey where we found a reversal of trends we did not expect. One we reported on earlier when our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment meter reading reversed its improving trend and declined by 7.5 points to -29.1%. Another trend reversal spotted was flat rolled steel inventory rebuilding at both manufacturers and service centers. Read more ...

Nucor Berkeley has begun to advise their customers of a change in flat rolled steel prices effective with any “new orders”. The new base prices are as follows Read more ...

SMU expects the U.S. will see more international steel coming into the country over the next two to three months as savvy buyers were able to take advantage of niche offers out of China, India, Taiwan, Korea and Russia. Trading companies are telling us the number of inquiries for international steel has grown but most buyers continue to be wary of placing orders at pricing similar to domestic and lead times which extend out to June 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 ...

Before we present our latest index numbers for this week we want to address the issue of “discounting” vs. “not sticking” when used in relation to mill pricing. To Steel Market Update (SMU), having worked in the steel industry for 3 decades, there is a significant difference between the two terms. Discounting are price adjustments made for various reasons in order to meet or beat your competition Read more ...

On Friday of last week (January 22, 2010) Goldman Sachs put a note out into the financial community regarding their concerns regarding the Chinese economy as the government (Chinese) has “embarked on a tightening process.” In their note the analyst discussed steel mill discounting (in China) and used the following words, “In steel, while not broad-based, we are beginning to see price discounting by some domestic mill, undermining recent price increases and could present a headwind for the stocks.” SMU believes this quote was aimed at the Chinese “domestic” market and not the U.S. Read more ...