Steel Products Prices North America

November Final Imports & December Expectations
Written by John Packard
January 12, 2016
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the final census data for foreign steel imports for the month of November. November imports were 2,453,593 net tons (not metric tons as we have already made the conversion from the US DOC charts) which is significantly below both the 3 month and 12 month moving averages (see table below). The November total is 33.58 percent lower in 2015 than it was the previous year.
December imports, based on license data collected through the 6th of January, are expected to be 2.5 million net tons or very close to the November number.
We thought our readers would enjoy looking at these two months – November 2015 and December 2015 and comparing them against the same two months in 2014. This will give you a sense of the changes the market has been going through and what might be in store for the domestic mills as we move into 2016 (assumption are inventories are declining on virtually all flat rolled products):

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

Nucor’s hot band list price holds at $875/ton
Nucor held its hot-rolled coil list price flat again this week, according to its Monday, Sept. 15 consumer spot price (CSP) notice.

Market says cutting interest rates will spur stalled domestic plate demand
Market sources say demand for domestic plate refuses to budge despite stagnating prices.

SMU Price Ranges: Some predict bottom is near as big discounts dry up
Sheet prices were mixed this week as some mills continued to offer significant discounts to larger buyers while others have shifted toward being more disciplined, market participants said.

SMU Price Ranges: Tags mixed as uncertainty weighs on market
SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price held steady this week while prices for other sheet and plate products declined.

Nucor spot HR list price unchanged at $875/ton
Nucor kept its weekly list price for hot-rolled (HR) coil unchanged this week, following a price bump of $10 per short ton (st) last week.