Steel Products Prices North America

March Steel Imports Near 3.5 Million Tons
Written by John Packard
April 5, 2018
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Commerce released steel import license data for the months of February and March 2018. There is a considerable difference between the two months, which SMU believes is partially due to the March 23 deadline before Section 232 tariffs went into effect.
February license data suggests the month will come in around 2.3 million net tons, while March is trending closer to 3.5 million net tons.
Semi-finished steels (which are mostly slabs used by the domestic steel mills) were well above their 12-month and 3-month moving averages. At 844,000 net tons, they were more than double February’s 401,000 net tons.
Finished imports for March were, again, well above the 12-month and 3-month moving averages. The 2.6 million tons will be about 700,000 tons higher than what we are seeing in the February numbers.
Virtually every product followed by SMU was above its 12-month and 3-month moving averages and significantly higher than what we saw for February 2018.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest 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.
