• Skip to main content

    Prices

    December 10, 2013

    Steel Exports Rise in October

    Written by Brett Linton

    Total steel exports rose 10.86 percent in October over September and were at the highest levels seen since May 2013. Of the 1,133,090 net tons (NT) exported in October, 52.70 percent were sent to Canada and 36.17 percent went to Mexico. The remaining 11.12 percent went to non-NAFTA countries, with tonnage going to Brazil (1.01 percent), China (0.78 percent), India (0.70 percent), and Italy (0.61 percent).

    Significant products exported in October include galvanized, plates cut lengths, hot rolled, structurals shapes heavy, plates in coils, reinforcing bars, and cold rolled. Galvanized exports were at 116,330 NT in October, down 3.74 percent over September tonnage. Plates cut lengths increased by 0.61 percent on a month-over-month basis to 107,870 NT. Hot rolled exports were 104,234 NT, up 8.84 percent. Structural shapes heavy were at 97,417 NT, up 16.55 percent. Plates in coils increased 1.71 percent to 78,114 NT.  Reinforcing bars were at 59,955 NT, up 29.07 percent. On the other hand, cold rolled exports were 52,394 NT, down 1.21 percent.

    Brett Linton

    Brett Linton is a digital operations analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Prices

    Mills seek more scrap after lower prices fail to attract tons

    Several mills that bought October scrap early last week are still asking for additional supplies, scrap market participants said. The reason: the mills' initial prices did not attract enough of the raw material, they said. A trading source based in northern Ohio said three mills have contacted his firm seeking offers for additional tons. He said the mills asked for offers even if prices were higher than their original buys last week.

    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,240/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 12, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,240 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,305/st, up $15/st from the prior week. Nucor is still offering lead times of three to five weeks, according to the letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 6, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,270/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 13.