Category: Analysis

Aluminum prices have spent the past month pricing in a calmer Middle East, while developments in the Strait of Hormuz have suggested anything but.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices were once again strongly optimistic this week, based on responses collected from steel executives in our latest market survey.

Cold-rolled (CR) coil prices were unchanged in the US this week, while offshore prices varied, though mostly trended up.

On July 1, CRU launched a US Galvalume coil benchmark price to serve this growing market.

Read the latest CRU Outlook on global sheet prices and the market for the coming months.

The results of the latest SMU flat-rolled market survey are now available on our website to all premium members.

If a trend of flat lead times holds, it would represent a change. And we’ve also seen a few of the other indicators we track slip from historic highs – so the potential shift is worth paying attention to.

The scrap market for July is partially settled except for the three largest scrap buyers in the country.

Toyota Motor North America plans to invest $3.6 billion to expand its San Antonio manufacturing campus.

Steel mill lead times for flat-rolled steel this week remained extended at historical highs. Plate production times crept out further, while hot-rolled and cold-rolled (HR/CR) coil saw minor contractions.

The majority of steel buyers we polled this week reported that mills are holding firm on new order spot prices.

A snapshot of our scrap market survey with some respondent comments included.

The recent announcement that the United States will seek changes to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) before agreeing to extend it should surprise no one. In fact, this is exactly what the agreement envisioned.

SMU’s Current Sentiment Index for scrap increased in July as Future Sentiment slipped, according to the latest data from our ferrous scrap survey.

Wire rod imports from Algeria face new countervailing duties (CVDs) in the US.

SMU’s average price for domestic HR was unchanged vs. last week. In offshore markets last week, while prices diverged, the dynamic between stateside and imported product varied little.

CRU's Josh Spoores takes a deep dive into the HR futures market.

Market reaction to Nucor’s move was mixed. Some sources said a flat CSP reflected concerns that further increases in US HR prices could attract more import competition. Others expressed frustration. Their view: CSP has kept a lid on prices, something that shouldn’t happen when many buyers remain more concerned about availability than price.

The scrap export market in both Europe and the US continued to decline after the activity of last week became confirmable.

The investigation follows requests from US producers Nucor and Steel Dynamics.

South Korean conglomerate Posco, which has expanded far beyond its original steel making activities, is to concentrate on expanding in business areas which support industrial security and supply chain resilience, Posco Chairman Chang In-hwa said. 

Oil and gas drilling activity in the US picked up over the past week, while drilling in Canada slowed, according to the latest Baker Hughes rig counts.

The recent retreat in aluminum prices has been a “head scratcher” as the Iran war continues to disrupt output from an important production region.

Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to tariffs, imports, and evolving market events.

Imports from Europe are at parity with domestic hot rolled, while Southeast Asian products remain at a considerable discount. The result comes because a stateside rally coincides with faltering offshore prices.

Cleveland-Cliffs plans to upgrade its ironmaking process at Middletown Works, according to a permit filing with the Ohio EPA.

We asked our readers what they thought the outcome of the ongoing USMCA talks might be as far as Section 232 tariffs go. Very few see an elimination of tariffs as likely.

The significant earthquakes in Venezuela could delay scrap exports, sources told SMU.

We’ve gotten so used to the slow, steady increases by now that $5/ton feels like the new flat. And flat, after so many consecutive weeks of gains, feels like a decrease.

Hot-rolled (HR) coil and plate prices continued to tick higher even as cold-rolled (CR) and coated prices came in unchanged, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.