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    Final Thoughts

    Written by John Packard


    A note to those attending the SBB/Platts North American Steel Conference in Chicago this week – take a moment to find Andre Marshall and Jack Marshall as well as Bradley Clark. Andre and Bradley take turns writing articles for Steel Market Update about the hot rolled, ferrous scrap, iron ore and billet futures markets. Andre Marshall is CEO of Crunch Risk, LLC and is also our instructor for our Managing Price Risk workshop (next one is New York City on April 26), Jack Marshall works for both Andre and Steel Market Update and Bradley Clark is with Kataman Metals. They should be able to assist in answering some of your questions about Futures and Options trading. Jack can also answer questions you might have about Steel Market Update.

    SMU understands ThyssenKrupp Steel USA will have their hot strip mill down during the first week of April. This is a planned outage but it is affecting their ability to offer spot tonnage into the market for the month of April.

    Latest in Product

    US heating and cooling shipments fall for third straight month

    US shipments of heating and cooling equipment slipped in September for a third consecutive month, according to the latest data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Shipments declined 2.6% month on month (m/m) in September, after having fallen 10% m/m in August. The monthly pace marks the third-slowest shipment rate year to date. Historically, shipments are strongest in early summer and weakest around the turn of the year, driven by seasonal air conditioner and heat pump volumes. AHRI's data shows September shipments totaled 1,687,240 units, down 2.6% m/m but up 7.7% year over year (y/y) (Figure 1, left). From August to September, shipments of warm air furnaces, A/C, and heat pumps declined, while water heater shipments rose. Compared with a year earlier, only air conditioners and heat pump shipments were higher.

    Nucor aims to raise plate prices by $70/ton, opens December orderbook

    Nucor said on Friday morning it plans to increase plate prices by $70 per short ton (st) as it opens its December order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers that orders must be submitted by Nov. 27 to be considered. You can check out SMU’s Steel Mill Price Announcement Calendar to follow announced pricing moves. SMU’s price assessment for plate currently stands at $1,550/st on average, as of Tuesday, Nov. 10, up $55/st vs. the prior week.

    SMU’s ferrous scrap prices rise in November

    Ferrous scrap prices rose in November across all grades SMU tracks, though prices varied widely by region. “Marketwise, we saw disparate market movements between regions in the November trade, which wrapped up earlier this week,” one source told SMU. “It was a mixed bag, depending on the region and grade.” The source added that export pricing also rose over the course of last week, “but much less than the domestic market.”  Demand from US mills is strong and “there is probably more lift to be expected in the market between now and the January trade," he continued.