Steel Products Prices North America
First Look at January 2015 Steel Imports
Written by Brett Linton
January 13, 2015
The U.S. Department of Commerce updated the import license data earlier this afternoon. Based on data collected through January 13, 2015, import licenses are lower at this point in the month than what we saw in September, October, November and December. Licenses for all steel products totaled 100,264 net tons which is much lower than the 132,000 to 170,700 we saw during the previous four months.
The most dramatic reductions are in coiled plate, cold rolled and galvanized steels. One item that needs to see a significant reduction is oil country tubular goods which continues to be in line with the four previous months.
In the table below, we are comparing license data from the second week of the month for the past four months against the data released for January earlier today.
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet floor holds as market debates upside
Our average HR coil price increased $5/short ton from last week, marking a second consecutive week of modest gains. Market participants generally attributed the increase to...
Thin demand keeps plate prices hovering at lowest levels since February
Participants in the domestic plate market say spot prices appear to have hit the floor, and they continue to linger there. They say demand for steel remains thin, with plate products no exception.
SMU Price Ranges: HR crawls back to $800/ton
SMU’s HR price stands at $800/st on average, up $5/st from last week. The modest gain came as the low end of our range firmed, and despite the high end of our range declining slightly.
SMU successfully completes IOSCO review
SMU has successfully completed an external review of all our prices. The review has concluded that they algin with principles set by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Domestic plate prices could heat up despite so-so demand, market sources say
Some sources also speculated that plate could see further price increases thanks to modest but steady demand, lower imports, mill maintenance outages, and end markets less immediately affected by tariff-related disruptions.