Product
February 24, 2022
Written by Michael Cowden
Some North American flat-rolled steelmakers were silent when asked what the impact of the conflict between the U.S. and Russia might be on their operations. Others said their supply lines weren’t in the crossfire.
One reason for the silence in some corners: Many rely heavily either on Russian slab or Russian or Ukrainian pig iron to make steel sheet and plate.
The current plate market squeeze has been driven by improved demand and heightened import barriers, including 50% Section 232 tariffs. But the timing of fall outages—even if they were planned—is exacerbating the supply crunch.
U.S. Steel held a ceremonial groundbreaking on Monday for its new $475-million quench-and-tempering facility at its Fairfield Tubular Operations in Alabama.
The scrap market for October is looking for direction as some participants on both sides of the furnace are indicating scrap prices are poised for an increase.
SMU’s latest Flat-Rolled Steel Buyers Survey shows that in a tight US market marked by long lead times, low inventories, and rising prices, foreign products continue to gain the interest of domestic buyers.
Domestic raw steel output fell to a six-month low last week after hitting a multi-year high one week earlier, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures.