Steel Mills

CSI Opens September; Sources Say Offers Up ~$200/ton
Written by Michael Cowden
June 24, 2021
California Steel Industries (CSI) has opened its flat rolled order book for September. The West Coast slab converter also has increased prices by approximately $200 per ton ($10/cwt), according to market participants.
“The purpose of this letter is to inform you that CSI’s September flat rolled order book is now open,” the company said in a letter to customers Thursday, June 24.
CSI did not say whether or by what amount it might have increased prices. But multiple sources said new base prices for hot-rolled coil were approximately $1,850 per ton ($92.50/cwt) – or up $200 per ton from August pricing.
The company also increased prices by approximately $200 per ton with the opening of its August order book in May. CSI’s July book, too, opened with triple-digit increases.
The sharp gains align with SMU’s pricing data.
SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price is $1,760 per ton – or $88/cwt. That’s up about 79% from $985 per ton at the beginning of the year and quadruple a 2020 low, recorded last August, of $440 per ton.
SMU publishes a price range, and the high end of our range – $1,850 per ton – is representative of recent offers by producers, including some east of the Rocky Mountains.
CSI, approximately 50 miles east of Los Angeles in Fontana, Calif., makes hot-rolled, pickled-and-oiled, cold-rolled and galvanized products as well as welded pipe.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills

Algoma Extends Iron Ore Purchase Agreement with U.S. Steel
Algoma Steel Group has extended its iron ore purchase agreement with U.S. Steel for another two years.

Cliffs Inks NDA with U.S. Steel, Source Confirms
Cleveland-Cliffs has signed a non-disclosure agreement with U.S. Steel as the latter continues with its strategic review sales process.
Algoma Aims To Ramp Plate Production by Year End
Algoma Steel Inc. plans to ramp up production at its modernized plate mill toward the end of the year. Operations Update The Canadian sheet and plate producer said it in the meantime continues hot commissioning at the upgraded facility and has begun cold commissioning as well. The company said it has also run trials through […]

Nucor Maintains Plate Prices
Nucor Corp. will keep plate prices unchanged with the opening of its November order book.
Sheet Lead Times Mixed, Plate Plummets
While lead times for sheet again had mixed movements this week, those for plate collapsed, according to SMU’s most recent market survey.