Category: Analysis

We’re roughly a week removed from the 2023 Steel Summit and some of the discussions, both on stage and the the sidelines of the event, remain of critical importance to many in the industry.

I headed back to the Atlanta airport after Steel Summit in 2022 hoping to catch up with a few colleagues and contacts only to learn that Cleveland-Cliffs had just announced a price hike. So, I set everything aside, opened up my laptop, and filed a short article about the $75-per-ton ($3.75-per-cwt) price increase from a […]

The Mexican government has placed temporary levies of 25% on inward-bound shipments of steel products from countries with which it does not have a free trade agreement.

The LME aluminum 3-month price moved higher this week wrapping up the week at $2,170 per ton on Aug. 25.

This year, the 13th annual edition of our Summit, we polled more than 1,450 attendees about where prices and demand would be, come August 2024.

I learned a lot at Steel Summit this year. More than I can do justice to in one column. Below are four things that have stayed with me after the conference closed on Wednesday afternoon. Another, as I highlighted earlier this week, was electricity – who gets it, and which energy sources we use. 1. […]

At every Steel Summit, a few themes seem to emerge that I didn’t anticipate. In 2021, I remember the theme being that scrap would be the next precious metal. (And also that Cleveland-Cliffs planned to expand in to the scrap market.) This year, I expected that there would be a lot of discussion about decarbonization. What I didn’t entirely expect was that we’d be talking so much about electricity and power generation.

Global steel production increased 6.6% year over year (YoY) in July to 158.5 million metric tons, according to the latest report from the World Steel Association (worldsteel).

Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, joined SMU managing editor Michael Cowden in a fireside chat to close out the 2013 Steel Summit’s opening day.

Steel Market Update’s Demand Index remains in contracting territory, where it has been for most of the last four months, according to the latest survey data. While the market did react temporarily in response to mill price hikes in mid-June, apparent demand for flat-rolled steel in the US continues to trend down.

I’m excited to see pretty much the entire steel industry this week in Atlanta. I’m looking forward to the networking and to learning from our great lineup of speakers. I also what not draw your attention to some highlights from our latest steel market survey. (Full results are here.) Some of these topics will be discussed along the sidelines as well as up on the stage.

The latest SMU Market Survey results are now available on our website to all Premium members.

SMU's Current Sentiment Index slipped this week, while the Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Index jumped 10 points from the last market check, according to our most recent survey data.

I am happy to announce that there are officially now more than 1,400 people attending SMU Steel Summit next week in Atlanta. That’s a new record for us, and I thank all of you for making it possible. I am also happy to say that Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, will be joining us for the first fireside chat of Steel Summit on Monday, Aug. 21, at 3:40 pm ET.

Mill lead times for most sheet products this week were basically flat compared to SMU's market check two weeks ago. Those for plate shortened once again.

I wrote on Sunday about U.S. Steel being for sale and Cleveland-Cliffs announcing that it was the among bidders for the iconic Pittsburgh-based steelmaker. I have heard some interesting theories on who the other bidders might be. Foreign mills, domestic mills, private equity - even Elon Musk, which I think is when things started to really jump the shark.

US service center flat-rolled steel inventories spiked in July with a slowdown in shipments. At the end of July, service centers carried 56.1 shipping days of flat roll supply, according to adjusted SMU data.

I planned to write this column about some of the big themes we’ll be discussing at Steel Summit. That plan changed when U.S. Steel announced on Sunday afternoon that it was conducting a formal review of a sale of all or part of the company after receiving multiple unsolicited offers. It changed yet again when Cleveland-Cliffs said its offer for U.S. Steel had been rejected.

CRU research manager Stephen Williamson shares his views of this week's aluminum market.

First, I want to say a big “thank you” to everyone who is attending Steel Summit this year. Earlier this week, we officially broke the attendance record we set last year. Numbers continue to rise. More than 1,300 will be there when the event kicks off on Monday, Aug. 21, at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta.

SMU’s hot-rolled coil price slipped a little below $800 per ton ($40 per cwt) this week for the first time in more than six months. You’d think that might have caused more of a fuss than it appears to have. Instead, many of the conversations I’ve had with folks in the market today have been […]

SMU senior analyst David Schollert provides an overview of steel market indicators for the month of July.

This is a tough time to be in the forecasting business, especially when it comes to steel. You might have a battle-tested model based on the latest macroeconomic data, prices, inventories, and lead times. The catch: Whatever a forecast might showing now could be overshadowed by events next month. Namely, labor negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) union and automakers General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis.

Steel Market Update’s Demand Index has now been contracting territory for the better part of the past 3-plus months, according to the latest survey data.

Iron ore prices remained elevated in July, averaging $112 /dmt for the month, unchanged from June.

It feels like the market is in a bit of a holding pattern. Lead times are roughly sideways, according to our latest check of the market. Will they begin to extend now that most mills are into September not only for cold-rolled and coated products but also for hot band?

Our sheet prices are down again this week. Some of you think it’s a sign of something ominous, others think it’s just a case of seasonality. It might help to step back and put things in perspective.

There is a lot going on at SMU right now. We’re going to be rolling out a new website over the next few days. We’ve also got more than 1,200 people registered to attend Steel Summit this year, putting us on pace to potentially break last year’s attendance record of nearly 1,300. The event is […]

China recently became the world’s largest exporter of cars. Experience from the steel industry suggests this is not a trend that will reverse.

There is a lot going on at SMU right now. We’re going to be rolling out a new website over the next few days. We’ve also got more than 1,200 people registered to attend Steel Summit this year, putting us on pace to potentially break last year’s attendance record of nearly 1,300.