Category: Analysis

Flat-rolled steel prices were flat or up moderately this week amid mixed signals from the market.

Leading industry analysts on Monday discussed steel prices and how they will be impacted by trade policy, consolidation, mill discipline, November’s elections, and more.

Durgesh Singh of Magswitch Technologies is the recipient of the 2024 SMU NexGen Leadership Award.

Whether as a guitar player in a rock and roll band or as a high-powered executive at Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), it’s all about the team for SDI’s Barry Schneider.

Having risen for three weeks in a row, weekly production is now at the highest rate seen since February 2023.

Nucor’s weekly consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil increased $15 per short ton (st) from last week to $710/st.

The big show is just about here. SMU Steel Summit will be getting underway on Monday. Where does the networking begin? I’d say at the airport. So don’t forget your business cards. And it can't hurt to wear a company golf shirt.

Steelmaking raw material prices have moved in differing directions across August, a change of pace from the declines seen in June and July, according to SMU’s latest analysis.

The number of US drill rigs in operation ticked lower last week while Canadian activity increased, according to the latest data released from Baker Hughes. US rig counts have gone up and down since June, hovering near multi-year lows. Canadian activity has trended upwards since a mid-May seasonal low, rising to a five-month high last week.

Canada’s government has ordered an end to the brief rail stoppage which had threatened to disrupt the movement of commodities.

CRU Aluminum Analyst Marziyeh Horeh shares a roundup of this week's news from the aluminum industry.

The basic pig iron (BPI) market remains virtually unchanged despite perceived weakness in other ferrous materials, such as scrap, billets, HRC and iron ore.

Global steel output fell 5% in July according to World Steel Association’s (worldsteel) latest release. Total steel mill production around the world tallied up to 152.8 million metric tons (mt) for the month of July, the second-lowest monthly rate seen this year.

Within the space of a few days, we'll all be leaving on a jet plane. That's not completely true. A couple of SMU staff in the Atlanta area will be driving to Steel Summit 2024. Still, the hour where we kick of conference is quickly approaching. In anticipation, we are providing one of our handy-dandy crosswords in honor of the event.

Swampy. Sticky. Mushy. Murky. These were all words galvanized buyers used this week to describe the current state of the US steel market.

Earlier 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 aims to fetch $730 per short ton (st) for hot-rolled coil, up $30/st from its last published price. The steelmaker said the move was effectively immediately and “due to ongoing market developments” in a letter to customers on Wednesday, Aug. 21.

The price spread between hot-rolled (HR) coil and prime scrap widened slightly in August but remains in territory not seen since late 2022, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

Gentlemen (and women), start your engines. The Steel Summit 2024 train has left the station and is en route to Atlanta.

Sheet prices trended sideways to modestly up this week in a market that appears to be in “wait-and-see” mode.

The global steel industry has been overshadowed by China’s surplus in steel supply, wreaking havoc in foreign markets.

More than 1,400 of you are now signed to attend Steel Summit – which kicks off next week at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta. We are very close to beating last year’s record attendance. So, if you’re on the fence, help us be part of steel history again – register here!

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices moved in differing directions this week. Both indices have generally trended downward across 2024, but continue to indicate optimism among steel buyers.

Here’s a roundup of some of the news making headlines in the aluminum industry this week from CRU’s Aluminum Analyst Marziyeh Horeh.

SMU's latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website. Here are some key points that we think are worth your time.

Oil and gas drill rig activity in the US inched lower last week while holding steady in Canada, according to the latest report from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes.

Chinese steel export prices decreased for the eleventh week in a row, with all steel products recording losses of 2-3.7% compared to the previous week.

Lead times for hot-rolled coil and plate have moved out a little, according to our latest survey data. Brett Linton has the details here. I think that might reflect some restocking and a host of fall maintenance outages – many of which are happening in September/October. But lead times aren't galloping away like some of the more bullish corners of the market might have hoped. And those for cold-rolled and coated products are largely unchanged.

Three out of four of our market survey respondents report that steel mills are open to negotiating new order prices this week, a slight decline compared to our previous market check.

Steel buyers continue to report short mill lead times for both sheet and plate products, according to SMU's latest canvass of the market. Lead times for hot-rolled and plate products marginally increased from our late July survey, likely due to limited restocking in anticipation of upcoming mill outages for scheduled maintenance.