Steel Products Prices North America
Raw Steel Production Up for the Second Week in a Row
Written by Tim Triplett
June 23, 2020
Steel production in the week ending June 20 totaled 1,224,000 net tons with the mills operating at an average utilization rate of 54.6 percent. Production was up 1.2 percent from the prior week when the utilization rate was 54.0 percent. This is a notable improvement from the post-virus low point of 1,144,000 tons or 51.1 percent utilization in the week ending May 2, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Although improved, the current week’s production still represents a 34.3 percent decrease from the same week last year when the mills were running at over 80 percent of capacity.
Adjusted year-to-date production through June 20 totaled 37,925,000 net tons at an average utilization rate of 67.5 percent–down 18.4 percent from production in the same period last year when the average utilization rate was 81.2 percent.
Following is production by district for the June 20 week: North East: 111,000 net tons; Great Lakes, 406,000 net tons; Midwest, 129,000 net tons; South, 526,000 net tons; and West, 52,000 net tons, for a total of 1,224,000 tons and a net increase of 14,000 tons. Production decreased in all regions except the South.
Note: The raw steel production tonnage provided in this report is estimated. The figures are compiled from weekly production tonnage from 50 percent of the domestic producers combined with monthly production data for the remainder. Therefore, this report should be used primarily to assess production trends. The AISI monthly production report provides a more detailed summary of steel production based on data supplied by companies representing 75 percent of U.S. production capacity. Capability for second-quarter 2020 is approximately 29.1 million tons, compared to 30.3 million tons for the same period last year and 30.1 million tons for the first quarter of 2020.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest 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 […]