Final Thoughts
Final thoughts
Written by Brett Linton & Ethan Bernard
May 2, 2024
Everybody has a plan… until they’ve dealt with volatility in the hot-rolled (HR) coil market. While Mike Tyson’s original quote was about getting punched in the mouth, it’s unlikely the ex-champ has gone many pricing rounds with HRC.
SMU’s HR coil prices were flat this week. As noted in our pricing article on Tuesday, some sources think published prices by Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs will result in less volatile pricing swings. Others think those prices could push prices down in the near term. There are a lot of plans out there. Whatever the results are, it’s going to be interesting to watch.
In this (perhaps brief) time of wait and see, what will people be talking about at the water cooler? (Or whatever the virtual version of a water cooler is these days.) The upcoming election? The twists and turns in the sale of U.S. Steel? AHMSA’s restart? Evraz NA sale? Well, we thought we’d like to throw our hat in the ring and add a little diversion.
So, below, for the pleasure of our readers, we’ve included a little steel crossword to test your knowledge, and the knowledge of your co-workers. Feel free to get competitive, but remember to keep it friendly (click here to attempt).
Please note: For anyone looking for an edge in their steel knowledge or for new hires aiming to turbocharge their steel learning, nothing beats our Steel 101 course. The next one will be June 11-12 in Fort Wayne, Ind., and includes a mill tour of SDI Butler. You can register here.
Brett Linton
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Ethan Bernard
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Final thoughts
SMU had the pleasure of attending the American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI's) annual general meeting in Washington this week. It was a slow week in our nation's capital, so we were able to take a leisurely stroll around the National Mall and take in the sights. Just kidding. In fact, the meeting coincided with significant trade actions announced by the Biden administration. It included, among other things, additional tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.
Final thoughts
Our spot price is little changed this week after moving sharply lower last week on the heels of Nucor’s unexpected price cut. Here’s one thought on that trend: Nucor's weekly HR price (aka, its “Consumer Spot Price” or CSP) has to date functioned almost more like a monthly price.
Final thoughts
What's the tea in the steel industry this week? Here's the latest SMU gossip column! Just kidding... kind of. Yes, some of the comments we receive in our weekly flat-rolled market steel buyers' survey are honestly too much to put into print. Some make us laugh. Some make us cringe. Some are cryptic. Most are serious. We appreciate them all. Below are some highlights from our survey results this week. Some of the comments that we can share with you are also included, in italics, in the buyers' own words, with minimal editing on our part.
Final thoughts
Last week we wrote about a brief lull in price movement, labeling it a period of wait and see. It did, in fact, turn out to be pretty brief. This week... things are little bit different. Perhaps right now we are more in a period of "hope and pray" or "Here we go, hold on to your hats."
Final thoughts
Unless you've been under a rock, you know by know that Nucor's published HR price for this week is $760 per short ton, down $65/st from the company’s $825/st a week ago. I could use more colorful words. But I think it’s safe to say that most of the market was not expecting this. For starters, US sheet mills never announce price decreases. (OK, not never. It has come to my attention that Severstal North America rescinded a price increase back on Feb. 14, 2012. And it caused quite the ruckus.)