Category: Analysis

How is the ferroalloys market in the US faring with the new tariffs.

On Monday and Tuesday, SMU polled steel buyers for their thoughts on the current market. We received an array of feedback, including prices, demand, inventories, imports, and evolving market events.

Following eight consecutive weeks of declines, sheet and plate prices saw some upward movement this week in the wake of last Friday’s Section 232 tariff increase announcement. Gains varied by product.

We're about to hit 50% Section 232 steel tariffs. What could happen?

Service centers and distributors contend that weak demand is to blame for the flattening of domestic steel spot prices, as reflected in Nucor Steel’s weekly Consumer Spot Price (CSP) notice. On Monday, the Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered steel producer left prices unchanged from the previous week. Nucor has maintained prices of plate produced in Brandenburg since March 28.

SMU’s Monthly Review provides a summary of our key steel market metrics for the previous month, with the latest data updated through May 30.

US raw steel production rose again last week, climbing to the highest weekly output recorded since last September, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

The American Iron and Steel Institute has tapped four members for its board.

Just when we thought we’d get a breather from tariffs news, we’re back in the thick of it.

Late Friday, President Trump said he would double down on tariffs, raising duties on imported steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%.

Nucor halted a four-week decline in its spot price for hot-rolled coil this week, maintaining its weekly consumer spot price (CSP) at $870/st.

With higher tariff rates on steel and aluminum set to go into effect on Wednesday, June 4, a new round of chaos across the supply chain is likely in store. Expect a significant impact on manufacturers and metal fabricators. But even before the latest round of Trump-tariff whiplash on Friday evening, there was a lot of interesting data coming out of SMU's steel-market survey.

Timna Tanners, managing director of equity research for Wolfe Research, will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat. Timna has coined Sheet Storm, Galv Galore, and Rebarmageddon. Her forecasts and insights are always though provoking. And she’s not afraid to speak her mind. So it's no surprise that she's one of our most popular guests!

The price premium of galvanized coil over hot-rolled (HR) coil has narrowed over the past two months, resuming the downward trend seen for most of the last year. As of May 27, the spread between these two products is at one of its lowest levels in nearly two years.

Highlights from the week and things to keep an eye on.

What's going on in West Coast ports?

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

After reaching multi-month lows in mid-May, SMU’s Buyers’ Sentiment Indices modestly recovered in our latest survey.

CRU analysts discuss how downward pressure on the US premium has persisted due to weakness in key consuming sectors, while concerns over zinc supply have been largely alleviated for the time being.

A short tour of key dates in the Nippon/USS deal, and what the future might hold.

We’re just 88 days out from North America’s largest gathering of the flat-rolled steel industry.

Mill lead times shrunk this week for all of the sheet products tracked by SMU and held steady on plate, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

Most of the surveyed US and Canadian metalforming manufacturers expect general economic activity to remain steady over the next three months.

“Unless the administration actually gets serious about levelling the playing field… for consumers of steel, then everything they've done on the steel side is useless."

Domestic hot-rolled coil prices moved lower again, maintaining the downward move seen in eight of the last 10 weeks.

Most steel buyers responding to our latest market survey report that domestic mills are willing to talk price to secure new orders. Mill negotiability has continued to rise across all sheet and plate products we track, now at some of the highest levels recorded since late 2024.

SunCoke Energy has purchased Phoenix Global, a metals and mining services company, for $325 million.

The US mills have managed to reduce pig iron prices to correspond with the sharp declines in domestic scrap prices in May.

In a social media post, President Donald Trump said a planned partnership between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel will add $14 billion to the US economy and ensure USS remains headquartered in Pittsburgh.

I sort of expected big news last Friday and over the long, Memorial Day weekend. Because that's become more the norm than the exception for steel this year. Sure enough, Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday afternoon that he had given his blessing to a “partnership” between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel. And then over the weekend we had market moving new on tariffs, this time involving the EU.