Steel Products Prices North America
March Steel Imports Trending Toward 3-Million-Ton Month
Written by Brett Linton
March 22, 2018
As importers rush to get steel into the United States, unloaded and customs released prior to the March 23 tariff deadline (tomorrow), the trend for March is for imports to exceed 3 million net tons. This would be a big month considering the tapering off we saw in January and February.
With the deadline for Section 232 quickly approaching, the 3.3 million tons of expected licenses may be a bit overstated as we believe there may be fewer vessels arriving after the 23rd than during a normal month. We do not, however, expect imports to drop significantly right away because of the run-up in domestic steel prices. This means that adding 25 percent duty to steel that was bought months ago still provides the ability to make a margin on the steel.
Import licenses totaled 2,138,844 net tons through the 20th of the month. The trend is calculated by dividing the license total by 20, which equals the daily average, and then projecting that average over the entire month to come up with the 3.3 million ton number shown below.
When we dig deeper into the data, we see a surge in slabs, which should be expected since semi’s have shorter lead times than finished steels. Semi’s are on pace (if the trend continues) to equal just about all that was shipped to the U.S. in January and February combined.
Hot rolled imports continue to shrink, cold rolled is moving higher, galvanized is higher, and Galvalume is in line with February and the three-month moving average.
Here is what imports looked like as of March 20.
Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest 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 […]