Twice per month Steel Market Update (SMU) conducts our flat rolled steel market trends analysis. During the process we find out how buyers and sellers are feeling about their company’s ability to be successful in the current steel environment (SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index) and we probe many other areas of interest to those manufacturing, […]
In this evening’s issue we have quite a bit of information about China and the debate regarding Chinese exports, over-capacity and perhaps implosion of steel prices by the end of June. We also have a letter from a manufacturing company who asked the question, why don’t we accept the transfer of wealth from China to […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to remain optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market environment (our Current Sentiment Index). On a single data point our Current Sentiment Index was down -1 point from the beginning of May. However, we prefer to use the three month moving average […]
On Monday of this week, Steel Market Update began canvassing the flat rolled steel market as part of our mid-May flat rolled steel market trends analysis. One of the areas we probe is that of mill lead times, the amount of time it takes to get an order produced for new orders placed this week. […]
As the thunderstorms erupt around our offices one of our indices is quite calm. The calming blue color of our bar graph depicts what buyers and sellers are telling us is happening during the negotiation process between mills and their customers: take it or leave it. Respondents to our mid-May flat rolled steel market trends […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 20th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
I saw a headline in another steel periodical stating that the USS/POSCO price increase was a reaction to the US DOC Final Determination on cold rolled. That doesn’t make sense to me. My understanding is UPI was behind in its pricing and needed to catch up. The new pricing is not outrageous when compared to […]
Today, the Department of Commerce announced its affirmative final determinations in the AD investigations of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products (cold-rolled steel) from China and Japan, and CVD investigation of imports of cold-rolled steel from China. Commerce determined imports of cold-rolled steel from China and Japan have been sold in the U.S. at […]
I am in Sylvania, Ohio at our Steel 101 workshop. I want to thank North Star BlueScope for working with us and coming to our workshop this afternoon to discuss their mill, what happened that caused them to cancel our tour and to discuss their mill with our attendees. By the way, it’s a little […]
US Steel has spearheaded an attempt to exclude all Chinese steel products from the U.S. market. But as is usually the case with drastic actions, there are a number of opponents to the move. Companies that use foreign steel in their products have asked the U.S. International Trade Commission to throw the complaint out. Steel […]
On May 17, 2016, the Department of Commerce is scheduled to announce its final determinations in the AD investigations of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products from China and Japan and CVD investigation of imports of certain cold-rolled steel flat products from China. The investigations cover certain cold-rolled, flat-rolled, steel products, neither clad, plated, […]
I am in Ohio as we will be hosting another one of our Steel 101 workshops in Sylvania, Ohio. The accident at North Star BlueScope has resulted in the loss of our mill tour. However, I believe this program will be one of the strongest presented as we have been working overtime to fill the […]
On the 24th of May the US Department of Commerce is scheduled to announce their Final Determinations regarding the corrosion resistant trade suits against China, Korea, India, Taiwan and Italy. There is an expectation that the announcement may actually be more supportive of the domestic mill position than what was seen in the Preliminary Determinations. […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 19th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
One of the most over used and misunderstood terms in the steel industry is “value added.” What exactly does “value” and “value added” mean when discussing steel distribution in particular? When asking the question, the first response I tend to get is about the “value proposition” or how perceived value relates to price, service and […]
Good evening (or Good Morning depending on when you read our newsletter) from Chicago. The mood is upbeat by most attending the Boy Scout Dinner due to the rising steel prices which have helped service centers and steel mills get healthier. A couple of secondary steel service centers told me that their business has also […]
Last week SMU asked those responding to our flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire about when they expected a break in the current flat rolled steel pricing cycle and for prices to begin heading lower. There was no consensus as 50 percent of those responding felt the change would occur prior to the 4th Quarter […]
My final thoughts are going to be short this evening. The word that keep going through my head today as I spoke with buyers and sellers of steel was “worry.” The number of people who worry about what is going to happen next seems to be growing by leap years on a daily basis. I […]
A quick note to those who will be attending the Chicago Metals Industry Boy Scout Dinner on Thursday of this week. I will be there as well. If you want to get a moment to chat send me an email or text. My email is John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. While communicating with a service center executive late on […]
SMU canvasses buyers and sellers of steel to see how they feel about their company’s ability to be successful in both the existing (Current) market conditions as well as what they perceive those conditions will be three to six months into the future (Future). All of our participants are involved in the flat rolled steel […]
Domestic mill lead times: the amount of time it takes to receive flat rolled steel on an order placed this week, continue to be extended and are averaging at least one week longer than one year ago according to those participating in this week’s SMU flat rolled market trends analysis. Earlier this week we began […]
Steel Market Update asks our flat rolled steel market trends analysis participants to comment on the status of negotiations between their company and their steel mill suppliers. We want to know how stringent are the mills being when it comes to collecting the announced or original quoted steel price and are they able to collect […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 18th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
I had a long conversation with a service center this afternoon regarding the steepness of the rise in flat rolled prices out of the domestic mills. This buyer was frustrated with the pace of the increases and the unnecessary (in his opinion) tension the increases have caused between their company and their customers. During the […]
The move by ArcelorMittal USA today was anticipated and the price levels noted in their increase email to their customers are in line with expectations. I expect the rest of the mills will follow along within $10-$20 per ton of the levels suggested by AMUSA. Some of the mills may wait for scrap prices to […]
On April 29, 2016, the Department of Commerce initiated an antidumping duty (AD) investigation of imports of certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate (CTL plate) from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey, and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of imports of CTL plate from Brazil, China, and […]
Last year in conjunction with Steel Success Strategies I had a lunch with a number of steel buyers, executives and two derivatives traders (one being Andre Marshall of Crunch Risk, LLC). We all gave our opinions as to where we thought benchmark hot rolled coil would be by early June 2016 when we will return […]
Last week Steel Market Update reported our Steel Buyers Sentiment Index as being at record highs. Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are very optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful not only in the current market but three to six months out into the future as well. When looking at Sentiment from […]
US Steel claims trade secrets involved in creating Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) were stolen in a Chinese cyber-attack in January 2011. Information acquired included the particular chemistry for Dual Phase steel (grades 590, 780 and 980) and its coating; critical temperatures and holding times for heating, cooling, and coating the steel; and the capabilities […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 17th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]