Steel Products Prices North America
January and February Foreign Steel Imports
Written by Brett Linton
February 23, 2020
Licenses for imports of finished steel in January totaled around 1.7 million tons, according to the latest Department of Commerce data, well above the three-month moving average near 1.4 million tons. While the January license data is prelminary, the last time the final Census data for finished imports was this high was in August 2019 at 1.8 million tons.
Import licenses in January totaled 3.4 million tons, including licenses for 1.7 million tons of semifinished products. Those figures are unusually high as a result of buyers seeking to max out quarterly quota limits. The final Census data will show actual imports averaging lower during the course of the quarter.
License data through Feb. 18 shows total imports of just over one million tons, including 926,000 tons for finished products alone. Looking back at license data reported in mid-January, finished product imports were slightly higher at 1.0 million tons, meaning February to date is trending down approximately 12 percent.
Due to Trump administration tariffs and quotas that skew the data, Steel Market Update has not projected any of the figures in the table below.
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 […]