Steel Products Prices North America
Ice Conditions Finally Abate on Great Lakes
Written by Sandy Williams
May 13, 2014
Shipping delays of iron ore on the Great Lakes are finally over. Ice coverage on the Great Lakes is down to 9.1 percent with the remaining ice concentrated in Lake Superior. According to satellite imagery, about 22 percent of Superior is still covered.
The US Coast Guard reports there are still small fields of ice in the Port of Thunder Bay, Eastern Lake Superior and outside of the Duluth/Superior. Two ice breakers are on standby in case high winds should push the ice into shipping lanes, however, commercial shipping is moving without need of escort.
Environment Canada reports the Great Lakes should be ice free by the end of the month.
Metals and mining analysts from Cowen & Company reported to their clients this morning, “Due to the heavy ice formations, Great Lakes iron ore shipments continued to trend below average in April. Iron ore shipments of 2.7MM mt were down 52% y/y and ~53% below the long-term average for the month. In the most recent AISI weekly reading, Great Lakes steel production is showing signs of a gradual recovery but remains ~6% below normalized levels.”
SMU spoke with one marine iron ore carrier who advised us that they had lost approximately 150 shipping days due to the weather (ice) issues on the Great Lakes and the Soo Locks. They are reporting business is back to “reasonably normal” but they are overbooked and “sufficiently challenged to get all of our float in for 2014.”
So, even though the ice situation is just about over the backlog of shipments will continue through the balance of the year.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
CRU: Longs pricing trends diverge in North, South America
Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]
Nucor cuts plate prices by $125/ton, cites ongoing competition
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its August order book.
Nucor cuts HR price for fourth straight week
Nucor lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil by another $10 per short ton (st) for the first week of July. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday that its CSP base price for the week will be $670/st for all of its sheet mills with the exception of California Steel Industries (CSI).
Cliffs sets $720/ton HR price with opening of August books
Cleveland-Cliffs on Tuesday announced its monthly hot-rolled (HR) coil price of $720 per short ton (st) with the official opening of its August order book. The rate is down from last month’s price of $800/st.
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]