Steel Products Prices North America
Final July Imports at 3.27 Million Tons
Written by John Packard
September 6, 2016
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Final Census data for July foreign steel imports. July imports surprised to the upside at 3,266,049 net tons. At the same time, based on data through the 2nd of September, August imports are trending toward another 3.0 million net ton month.
Both July and August saw a surge in semi-finished imports. SMU is aware that ArcelorMittal is starting back up their IH3 blast furnace at Indiana Harbor and our understanding is part of the production is for slabs to go to their Alabama operations. Maybe the IH3 is not such bad news for the domestic steel industry? We will have to wait a few months to see if semi-finished imports shrink but if they do you know the reason why/how.
Hot rolled imports were quite high in July but fell off in August. Cold rolled imports are higher than they have been averaging both on a 3 month and 12 month moving average. This may get worse with Russia now coming back to the mix (but they will not be a huge tonnage supplier). The issue with cold rolled is the wide variance between foreign (mostly Vietnam and Turkey) and domestic prices. The U.S. mills need to get more competitive in the coming months on cold rolled.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
SMU Price Ranges: HR holds, galv slips amid competing market narratives
SMU’s sheet and plate prices see-sawed this week as hot-rolled (HR) coil prices held their ground while prices for galvanized product slipped.
Nucor carries $875/ton HR list price into week seven
Nucor is keeping hot-rolled (HR) coil prices unchanged again this week, according to its latest consumer spot price (CSP) notice issued on Monday, Oct. 6
SMU Price Ranges: A newsy week sees modest price gains despite a quiet spot market
Market participants predicted that prices should be at or near a bottom. But while most seemed to agree on that point, many also said they saw little upside given a quiet spot market and ongoing concerns about demand.
Nucor increases plate prices by $60/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $60 per short ton with the opening of its November order book.
Nucor’s $875/ton HR spot price spills into week six
Nucor is keeping hot-rolled (HR) coil prices unchanged again this week, according to its latest consumer spot price (CSP) notice issued on Monday, Sept. 29.