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: Sheet Slips Again on Strike, But Is a Bottom in Sight?
Sheet prices slipped again this week on news of the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike and continued caution among some consumers.
HRC vs. Galv Price Spread Widened This Summer
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized sheet base prices widened throughout the summer as hot rolled prices declined faster than those of galvanized.
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Slips Again on UAW Strike Fears
Sheet prices fell across the board ahead of what many market participants predict will be a strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) later this week.
Nucor Lowers Plate Prices by $40/t
Nucor Corp. will lower plate prices by $40 per ton ($2 per cwt) with the opening of its October order book.
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Prices Move Lower, No Bottom Yet
Sheet prices have fallen this week, after a small pause last week when prices saw mixed results. Tags have now been largely trending lower since July.