• Skip to main content

    Prices

    February 19, 2019

    February Foreign Imports Trending to 2.6 Million Tons

    Written by Brett Linton

    The U.S. Department of Commerce released new license data through the 19th of February and the trend for imports is at 2.6 million net tons (+/- 200,000 tons). Semi-finished steels continue to be the largest single product imported, with most being slabs heading to mills like California Steel, NLMK USA, JSW USA and ArcelorMittal Mobile. Flat rolled tonnages continue to decline with hot rolled, coiled plate, cold rolled and galvanized all below their 12-month and 3-month moving averages. With service center inventories dropping and shipments remaining quite robust, steel buyers need to stay aware of possible storm clouds on the horizon due to tightening supply. This is not a warning, just something steel buyers need to watch closely.

    The tonnages shown in our table are net tons, not metric, which is how the DOC reports the data. The February numbers are not actual tonnages, but rather the trend based on the daily license average, which is then projected to remain the same for the balance of the month. This give us the “trend,” which at this point in the month can vary by +/- 200,000 net tons or more.

    Brett Linton

    Brett Linton is a digital operations analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Prices

    Nucor ups spot HR coil to $1,295/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Nov. 9, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,295 per short ton (st) this week, up $15/st from the prior week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,365/st, also up $15/st from last week. Nucor continues to offer lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Nov. 3, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,350/st, up $45/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 10.

    Nucor temporarily halted secondary offers, rattling a tight US market

    Nucor opened its secondary and excess product bid list across all its flat-rolled mills last Monday, as it typically does, market participants told SMU. But by Wednesday, when bidding was scheduled to close, Nucor notified buyers it would not be awarding any bids that week. The abrupt close sent a shock through the secondary market, they said. “There will be no awards this week,” emails from Nucor sales representatives to customers confirmed. “Effective immediately, we are placing a temporary hold on all secondary sales.”

    Sheet prices surge as ’26 market squeeze spills into ’27

    Sheet prices soared this week as market participants increasingly predict that the strong market characterizing 2026 will stretch well into 2027. And with extremely limited spot availability, mills that have spot tons to sell are charging a significant premium, they said. The result: Sheet prices saw their highest week-over-week gains since March 2025, according to SMU's pricing records. That's when President Trump shocked the market by expanding Section 232 tariffs to cover traditional US allies such as Canada, Mexico, and the EU.

    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,280/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Nov. 2, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,280 per short ton (st) this week, up $10/st from last week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,350/st, also up $10/st from a week earlier. Nucor continues to offer lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 27, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,305/st, up $15/st from the previous week.

    HR Futures: Basic story remains, but curve shifts

    In my last column, the HRC futures curve was pricing a sizable premium on near-term tightness while still pointing toward eventual normalization. Since then, that basic story has remained intact, but the shape of the curve has shifted meaningfully. Rather than simply moving higher and pushing the peak out by another month, as has largely been the pattern throughout this rally, the curve is now pricing a more pronounced and prolonged period of tightness, while the long end has remained relatively anchored, which previously had also been lifted with the rest of the curve.