• Skip to main content

    Product

    Final Thoughts

    Written by John Packard


    A quick note to remind our readers that our first Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals workshop of the New Year will be held in Columbus, Mississippi and will include a tour of the Severstal Columbus mini-mill. We highly recommend our program for anyone who is new to the industry, executives who are changing positions or who are looking for an independent refresher course, sales and purchasing support staff, quality assurance departments, operations and individuals and companies who work with steel mills, trading companies, service centers or manufacturing companies who are heavily involved in the steel industry. Our instructors are second to none. We cover both long and flat products. You can learn more about our program and how to register on our website: www.SteelMarketUpdate.com or you can contact us in our office: 800-432-3475 or info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. We look forward to seeing you in Mississippi in late February.

    We had a good turnout for this past week’s steel survey with 44 percent of the respondents’ manufacturers, 40 percent service centers with 5 percent each trading companies, mills and toll processors and 1 percent suppliers to the industry. This provides us a well-balanced look, in our opinion, into the flat rolled steel industry.

    Latest in Product

    Ternium plans February start for new slab mill, sees Mexico prices rising

    Ternium SA expects a modest seasonal decline in consolidated steel shipments in the fourth quarter, but sees Mexico revenue per ton continuing to rise with North American steel price trends. The outlook came as the company released its third-quarter earnings report and prepares to start steel shop production at its new Pesqueria slab mill in February. “We are seeing a strong demand in Mexico … strong demand in the US,” CEO Maximo Vedoya said on a conference call on Wednesday to discuss the quarterly earnings. Ternium reported Q3’26 net income of $368 million, compared with $465 million in Q2’26 and a $270-million loss in Q3’25.

    Sheet prices surge as ’26 market squeeze spills into ’27

    Sheet prices soared this week as market participants increasingly predict that the strong market characterizing 2026 will stretch well into 2027. And with extremely limited spot availability, mills that have spot tons to sell are charging a significant premium, they said. The result: Sheet prices saw their highest week-over-week gains since March 2025, according to SMU's pricing records. That's when President Trump shocked the market by expanding Section 232 tariffs to cover traditional US allies such as Canada, Mexico, and the EU.

    Ferrous scrap prices seen rising in November

    Most SMU scrap sources are predicting a stronger scrap market for November. The increase in prices is generally thought be $20-30 per gross ton (gt) in most districts. However, there are differences of opinion about the upcoming price settlements. SMU spoke with a trading source in the Great Lakes region who told us mills in the Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania regions are short on scrap. At least one buyer is offering to buy scrap at a $30/gt increase from October levels. He said most dealers have elected to wait to see where things settle before making commitments.