Steel Products Prices North America

U.S. Steel Exports at a 24-Year Low in May
Written by Brett Linton
July 9, 2020
U.S. steel exports in May slipped 13 percent past April’s low to their lowest level in more than 24 years as the coronavirus took a toll on economies all over the world. At 353,000 tons, May exports were down 44 percent from levels one year prior, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data.
The 2020 monthly average for exports is now 542,000 tons, whereas the first five months of 2019 averaged 612,000 tons. The 2019 monthly average was 616,000 tons.
Exports of hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and other metallic coated products are at the lowest levels Steel Market Update has seen in its limited 10-year history.
Total May exports were below the three-month moving average (average of March through May 2020), and also below the 12-month moving average (average of June 2019 through May 2020). Here is a breakdown by product:
Cut plate exports decreased 4 percent from April to 71,990 tons, and were down 5 percent compared to one year ago. The last time cut plate exports were this low was December 2019.
Exports of coiled plate were 20,997 tons in May, down 22 percent over last month, and down 35 percent year over year. Coiled plate exports have not been this low since September 2018.
Hot rolled steel exports fell 10 percent over April to 22,835 tons, down 49 percent over May 2019.
Exports of cold rolled products were 16,712 tons in May, down 36 percent from April, and down 60 percent over the same month last year.
Galvanized exports decreased 24 percent month over month to 32,906 tons. Compared to levels one year ago, May was down 72 percent.
Exports of all other metallic coated products were 10,161 tons, down 26 percent from April, and down 48 percent compared to one year ago.
Below are two graphs showing the history of U.S. steel exports, in total and by product. To use their interactive features, view the graphs on our website by clicking here. If you need assistance logging into or navigating the website, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com.

Brett Linton
Read more from Brett LintonLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

Nucor pushes HR spot price to $790/ton
Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $790 per short ton (st) on Monday, Feb. 10 – a $15/st bump vs. last week. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company has raised its weekly CSP by $40/st over the past three weeks after maintaining tags at $750/st since Nov. 12, according to SMU’s […]

ArcelorMittal Dofasco increases spot sheet prices
ArcelorMittal Dofasco is raising spot sheet prices by CA$100 per ton (US$70/ton). The Hamilton, Ontario-based flat rolled steelmaker told customers the increase is effective immediately for all new orders. It did not specify to what level this brings its base prices but noted its right to re-quote previous but unconfirmed orders. “We will continue to […]

Nucor raises HR spot price to $775/ton
Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $775 per short ton (st) on Monday, Feb. 3. The $15/st week-on-week (w/w) rise marks the first back-to-back increases in the steelmaker’s weekly CSP since last August, according to SMU’s mill price announcement calendar. Nucor’s joint-venture subsidiary California Steel Industries (CSI) is also up […]

Nucor raises HR spot price to $760/ton
Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $760 per short ton (st) on Monday, Jan. 21. The $10/st week-on-week (w/w) rise marks the first increase in the CSP since Nov. 12. According to SMU’s mill price announcement calendar, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker held the weekly price at $750/st for 11 […]

SMU price ranges: Slow start to the year
Steel prices ticked lower this week for four of the five products SMU tracks, according to our latest canvass of the sheet and plate markets. Following last week’s bump, our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, and plate indices all edged lower this week by $5-15 per short ton (st) on average. Galvalume was the only […]