December 6, 2022

Final Thoughts

Hot-rolled coil notched its first consecutive price gains since March on the heels of $60-per-ton ($3-per-cwt) price hikes announced last week.

Don’t get me wrong. The price increases have not stuck in full. They often don’t after an initial round. But they have put a floor under prices. And the market seems to be inflecting upward.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.