• Skip to main content

    Prices

    US Steel Exports Steady in June at 800,000 Tons

    Written by Brett Linton


    US steel exports were up 1% from May to June, totaling just shy of 800,000 net tons, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. This is the third highest monthly export rate seen in the past four years. On a 12-month moving average (12MMA), June exports rose to a 3+ year record high. Total June exports are 3% higher than levels seen one year ago.

    As shown in the graph below, June exports remain high in comparison to recent years. For comparison, the highest monthly figure seen in the past four years was in March 2022 at 843,000 tons. The highest level recorded in Figure 1 was 1.05 million tons in May 2017, and the highest monthly rate in our history was January 2012 at 1.32 million tons. Recall that in June 2020, total steel exports had fallen to a 24-year low of 374,000 tons.

    Brett Linton

    Read more from Brett Linton

    Latest in Prices

    Final Thoughts: Is the steel market now tighter than in 2021?

    "Now, the problem is no longer the price. The problem is having access to steel." That would have made a good lead. But I can’t take credit for it. Those (very quotable) words are from Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves during the steelmaker’s quarterly earnings conference call on Monday. For a while, I thought the shortages we'd been hearing about might be mostly a problem for small- and mid-sized buyers. But we’re seeing even some of the biggest steel buyers talking openly about supply problems.

    Sheet and plate price gains accelerate as 2026 tons dry up

    Sheet and plate prices continue to push higher as mills charge a premium for what little spot tonnage remains for 2026, market participants said. SMU’s price assessment for hot-rolled (HR) coil now stands at $1,290 per short ton (st) on average, up $10/st week over week. HR price gains averaged $5/st w/w throughout July and August, with no changes in prices some weeks and gains of at most $15/st w/w. In September and October to date, in contrast, prices have increased every week—with the average gain at $11.25/st w/w and w/w gains as high as $20/st. Prices for cold-rolled and coated products continued to increase as well. SMU's price assessment for cold-rolled (CR) coil clocked in at...