Mill lead times for orders of flat rolled and plate products have shortened significantly over the past month. Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market shows the average lead times for hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel have come in by roughly three-fourths of a week. The typical hot rolled lead time is […]
Since this time last year, mills have been in the driver’s seat when it comes to steel price negotiations. With demand exceeding supplies – and with buyers more concerned about finding steel than what they had to pay for it – mills have basically been able to steer prices wherever they wanted. That appears to be changing, […]
Sentiment among steel buyers tends to mirror steel prices. The higher the steel price, the higher the spirits of service center and manufacturing executives and the more optimistic they feel about their prospects. Steel Market Update data shows that the record-high steel prices of the past year have begun to moderate. But Steel Buyers Sentiment […]
United Auto Workers (UAW) members at John Deere have set up pickets after a midnight strike deadline lapsed. The strike at the Moline, Ill.-based heavy equipment manufacturer impacts more than 10,000 workers at 14 facilities – most of them in the Midwest but some as far afield as Colorado and Georgia. “Our members at John Deere […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor North American sheet prices are lower m/m as prices in the U.S. have finally started to fall, at least for HR coil. Over the past several weeks, the amount and overall volume of spot transactions between mills and buyers have slowed, yet we […]
As I bounce around the market this week talking to steel buyers, I am trying to get a better feel for potential changes, how contract negotiations are going, how receptive end-user customers are toward the higher prices being offered (compared to one year ago), and what kind of foreign steel offers are out there. The […]
Heavy equipment maker Deere & Co. faces a midnight strike deadline after United Auto Workers (UAW) union members overwhelmingly rejected a tentative contract agreement. The deadline has been set for Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 11:59 pm after approximately 90% of UAW members rejected the tentative pact, the union said. Both sides continue to bargain in […]
U.S. heating and cooling equipment shipments slowed in August to 2.05 million units, down 2.4% from July and down 11.4% from June’s record-high of 2.32 million units, according to recent data from the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). August levels are down 1.8% from levels seen one year prior. Recall that 2020 monthly shipment […]
Whether they believe steel prices are in for a sharp or a gradual correction, most of the service center and manufacturing executives responding to SMU’s latest survey agree the market is at a turning point. Here are a few of their recent observations: “Yes, I think we are at the inflection point. The market appears to be […]
Stellantis – the Dutch parent company of Chrysler – has extended downtime at one of its U.S. plants because of the ongoing global microchip shortage, a company spokeswoman said. The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker’s assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., will be down through the end of October, she said. “Stellantis continues to work closely with our […]
Let’s put aside the question of whether the steel market has peaked. Let’s just assume that it has, for the sake of argument. Will the correction be gradual, rapid, or gradual until it’s rapid? I tend to think it will be the latter. But let’s put the question of timing aside and just look at […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley and Analyst Dave Thewlis, from CRU’s Steel Long Products Monitor Long product prices in the U.S. remained elevated and moved higher again m/m in some cases for October. Wire rod mills pushed through another round of price increases in mid-September and there was little to no resistance from buyers […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have increased in the past week on post-holiday optimism that a real estate collapse can be avoided and the fact that steel production is increasing after the Chinese holiday. CRU has assessed the iron ore price at $132.0 /dmt, up […]
The Dodge Momentum Index rebounded in September after contracting for three successive months. The index registered 164.9 in September, an 11% gain against the revised August reading of 148.0, according to data and analytics from the Dodge Construction Network. The improved Momentum Index in September suggests developers are looking past the current concerns over pricing, […]
By CRU Economist Frank Eich and CRU Research Analyst Clifton Hoong As addressing climate change has become an increasingly urgent political priority, policy makers have been keen to develop the available tool kit to address this challenge. Within that tool kit, carbon pricing plays an important role as it has been identified as one of […]
Sheet prices are mixed this week. Hot rolled is up $10 per ton, cold rolled is down $30 per ton, and galvanized base prices are unchanged. What do you make of a week like this when there is no clear trend? First, I would caution against reading too much into any one week – especially when […]
The U.S. construction sector was virtually unchanged in August, as spending was largely flat for a second straight month. Increase in public sector projects was offset by weakness in the private sector, the Commerce Department reported. Supply chain disruptions, rising materials prices and labor shortages continue to keep the construction sector captive. The trend has […]
Total construction spending was flat for a second consecutive month in August, as a decrease in nonresidential projects offset continuing gains in residential construction, reported the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Spending on infrastructure year-to-date declined when compared to the same year-ago period, leading the AGC to urge the House of Representatives to promptly […]
First, I want to thank the SMU team for keeping the ship afloat and moving forward during my extended vacation. If you didn’t know, I took the month of September off, then the team did a great job during my absence. And of course the steel market kept churning while I was away from my […]
By most measures, the steel market is in transition. Demand remains strong, with notable exceptions in sectors such as automotive. Supplies remain tight, but not nearly as tight as earlier in the year thanks to surging imports. Mill lead times are still highly extended versus historical averages, but are a week or two shorter than […]
Job losses continue to have widespread effect on the construction sector. Nearly one-third of U.S. metro areas lost construction jobs during the 12-month period ended August 2021, reports the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) in its latest analysis of government data. As the fate of a bipartisan infrastructure bill remains uncertain in the U.S. […]
By CRU Senior Editor Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices outside of the USA fell markedly this week as demand declines and inventories build. The largest of these declines occurred in Europe, as lower-priced imports forced Italian domestic prices to fall below the €1,000 /t mark for the first time since […]
Stellantis – the Dutch parent company of Chrysler – has extended downtime at two of its North American plants because of the ongoing global microchip shortage, a company spokeswoman said. The automaker’s assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., will be down the week of Oct. 4 as will its assembly plant north of the U.S. border […]
General Motors has resumed production at most of North American assembly plants, but has extended downtime at others – notably in Canada and Mexico. Crosstown rival Ford has also scheduled additional downtime at some of its U.S. plants. Here is where things stand with Detroit-based GM, the United States’ largest automaker: GM’s Lansing Grand River (LGR) assembly […]
Mill lead times for flat rolled and plate products have gradually been shortening over the past two months. Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows the average lead time for hot rolled down to nearly eight weeks from more than ten weeks in early August. Lead times for cold rolled and galvanized […]
Steel Market Update’s foreign versus domestic price analysis elsewhere in this issue shows hot rolled imports still anywhere from $400 to $800 per ton cheaper than prices in the U.S., depending on the country of origin. The potential cost advantage remains very tempting to buyers willing to take on the risks of a long and […]
Price dynamics in the steel market are starting to resemble an inverted yield curve, and market participants should treat the situation with appropriate caution. Plate mills and tube producers have announced significant price increases: $75 for tubular products ($3.75 per cwt), $80 per ton for plate and as much as $240 per ton for quenched and […]
North American auto assemblies rebounded in August after light vehicle production hit a 14-month low the prior month. Despite the increase, the impact of the chip shortage continued to worsen, diminishing vehicle inventories and pushing regional sales down during the month, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). Total North American vehicle production, including personal and commercial […]
By Stephen Williamson, CRU Research Manager, Aluminum Aluminum prices continue to flirt with $3,000 per metric ton on the LME. While off a bit, now at $2,866, recent upsets in the market make price volatility the norm in the near term. Energy curtailments in China exacerbate not only global aluminum supply but also silicon (Si) […]
By Stephen Williamson, CRU Research Manager, Aluminum As in last week’s report, aluminum prices continue to flirt with the $3,000 per metric ton mark on the LME, $2,908/t as of this writing. However, this apparently steady price range belies a torrent of market activity. The protracted energy curtailments in China continue to cast doubt on […]