Category: Analysis

SMU is pleased to share the latest news from the global pig iron markets from our sister publication, Recycled Metals Update.

Continued highly competitive steel exports from China, amid weakening global demand, have triggered a wave of trade protectionism across major markets.

Whether it’s the twists and turns of the presidential election, the U.S. Steel deal, or just what’s happening with the movement of steel pricing, there has been no shortage of stories for us to cover.

The August Architecture Billings Index (ABI) continued to indicate weak business conditions amongst architecture firms through August, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.

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

Cleveland-Cliffs is seeking $750 per short ton (st) for hot-rolled coil. That’s $20/st above where the steelmaker had been. It’s also $30/st above Nucor, which is at $720/st this week. We've seen prices increase incrementally this week. SMU's HR price, for example, stands at $690/st on average, up $5/st from last week. The questions now are whether a number well above $700/st will stick, whether other mills will follow Cliffs, and whether there is enough demand to support higher prices.

SMU’s steel price indices were steady to higher this week. Each of our sheet indices crept upwards from last week, while our plate index was unchanged.

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index ticked back seven points last week, falling further into contraction territory.

Flat rolled = 66.3 shipping days of supply Plate = 57.0 shipping days of supply Flat rolled Flat-rolled steel supply at US service centers grew further in August. The dynamic resulted from some Q3 restocking efforts at a perceived market bottom, met with shorter lead times and weaker demand. At the end of August, service […]

Cleveland-Cliffs aims to increase prices for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $750 per short ton (st) effective immediately. The move represents a price hike of $20/st from the Cleveland-based steelmaker's previously published price of $730/st.

Domestic raw steel mill production eased last week but remains at a healthy rate, according to the latest release from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Nucor’s weekly consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil is unchanged from last week.

We got a little flack for adjusting our sheet momentum indicators to neutral last week. To be clear, we didn’t adjust them to lower. Part of the reason we moved them to neutral was because there are some unusual cross-currents in the current market. On the news side, you could make a case that there should nowhere to go but up.

Shipments of heating and cooling equipment remained near multi-year highs in July, according to the latest data released from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

A roundup of the week's CRU aluminum news.

The price spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap widened again in September, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores shares with SMU his analysis of the hot-rolled coil futures market.

Following significant recoveries in late August, SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices tumbled this week.

The US plate market finds itself in unfamiliar territory, well maybe unfamiliar territory for this side of the post-Covid “normal,” that is.

I think all of us know that sometimes courtships go wrong. A misplaced word or deed and soon things can go sideways, and not in the prices sense. Such could be the case with Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel’s play for U.S. Steel.

Steel mill lead times shortened for both sheet and plate products this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

Negotiation rates have edged lower from our previous market check, a downward trend witnesses since July.

We’re starting to see some impacts of the big trade case filed last week against imports of coated flat-rolled steel from 10 nations. Namely, we’ve heard that a range of traders have stopped offering material from Vietnam. An alleged dumping margin of nearly 160% will do that. Especially amid chatter of critical circumstances.

SMU’s steel price indices showed mixed signals for a second consecutive week. Our hot rolled, cold rolled, and plate price indices inched lower from last week, as the galvanized index held steady and Galvalume's ticked higher.

Following June’s slump, the amount of finished steel entering the US market partially rebounded in July, according to SMU’s analysis of data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Following May’s five-month low, US steel exports ticked higher in July, according to the latest US Department of Commerce data. The amount of steel exiting the country rose 6% month on month (m/m) to 818,000 short tons (st). This is back in line with trade levels seen in recent months.

Raw steel output by US mills ticked up slightly last week, according to the latest data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Nucor has raised its weekly consumer spot price (CSP) by $10 per short for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $720/st.

The phrase “political football” has been tossed around a lot lately. (Pun probably intended.) For the humble journalists at SMU who thought the week following Steel Summit would prove a quiet one… the news cycle had other ideas