Steel Products Prices North America

Finished Steel Imports Trend Down in August
Written by John Packard
August 23, 2018
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest license data on foreign steel for the months of July and August. As SMU reported last week, the August trend has been for imports to be at, or above, 3 million net tons. This week the trend suggests August will be closer to 2.9 million net tons.
Semi-finished imports (slabs/billets), which are used only by steel mills, are running quite high in August. The trend is for semi’s to reach 900,000 net tons.
After taking the semi’s out of the equation, August finished steel imports were trending toward a 2 million net ton month. This is significantly lower than both the 12-month and 3-month moving averages.
What is most important from SMU’s point of view is to review the specific flat rolled and plate items (see table below). Hot rolled imports are trending lower than July and close to June levels. Cold rolled is trending lower than both June and July. Galvanized and Galvalume are also trending below June and July levels.

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.