While attending the FMA Toll Processing Conference I ran across someone associated with Feralloy Processing Company who spoke to me about the upgrades they had made to one of their levelers. I requested more information and learned that the company had recently purchased and installed a Butech Bliss patent pending Synergy hydraulic operated roller leveler […]
In order to keep their operations running smoothly, steel buyers have to manage the difference between their company’s predicted use of steel and the actual demand. Since flat rolled steel lead times from Steel Mills can be many weeks, buyers have to maintain large safety stock inventories to handle this discrepancy. That does not mean, […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered at present is thirty-six. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. The present situation of […]
Based on local news reports as well as information from Steel Market Update flat rolled sheet sources, the blast furnace issue at AK Steel Ashland was due to a break out at the bottom of the vessel. A break out is when molten pig iron penetrates the outer wall of the blast furnace. Since the […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S remained negative this week for the 5th consecutive week after being in positive territory for the prior 15 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price movements […]
I have to admit I am very impressed with the quality of the speakers and the program that has been put on by the FMA Toll Processors Conference. One of the reasons why I am attending this particular conference was due to the agenda which included a couple of programs about Advanced High Strength Steels […]
We have to do a better job of learning military time. By mistake tonight’s newsletter was sent out at 20:00 hours not 22:00 hours as originally planned. Since I have a habit of working into the evening on publishing nights all of a sudden we published before the newsletter was complete. So, throw away your […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our mid-February flat rolled steel market survey this past week. Our surveys are by invitation only and our current invitee list consist of 586 companies. The vast majority of the individuals or companies associated with our survey have been vetted by SMU management to insure that we are working from […]
Steel prices continue to drop on most, if not all, of the indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Benchmark hot rolled coil was referenced at $645 per ton by both Steel Market Update and Platts. CRU had HRC pegged a few dollars higher at $649 per ton. SteelBenchmarker, which is part of World Steel Dynamics, […]
Domestic mill lead times hardly budged according to our most recent SMU steel market survey of the flat rolled steel market. Those participating in our survey put the average hot rolled lead time at 3.70 weeks. This is down slightly from the 3.89 weeks measured at the beginning of the month. The three month moving […]
All flat rolled steel prices, with the exception of cold rolled (and plate which we do not currently measure), were reported as being more negotiable at the domestic mills this past week. This result is based on the Steel Market Update proprietary flat rolled steel market survey which was concluded last Thursday (February 20th). Eighty-eight […]
Buyers who read Steel Market Update may know all about the subject of conflict minerals and the large impact it has had on purchasing departments. However, many buyers may not be familiar with the requirements of the law in this matter. In 2010, the US Congress enacted the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. A little know […]
Steel 101: Introduction to Steelmaking & Market Fundamentals. Our next workshop will be held in Dearborn, Michigan on May 6-7, 2014. The workshop will include a tour of the Severstal Dearborn fully integrated steel mill. We think the program, our instructors and the mill tour are excellent. But don’t take my word for it. Here […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) began collecting responses earlier this week from the companies invited to participate in our twice monthly flat rolled steel market analysis. Even with weather related issues being felt around the country, our Buyers Sentiment Index was measured at a robust +39 this week. This result is one point lower than from […]
Based on the most recent MSCI flat rolled steel data Steel Market Update has calculated that U.S. service centers grew their “Excess” inventories from +2,000 tons at the end of December to +150,000 ton at the end of January. The “Apparent Excess” is based on a proprietary model which projects future shipments and inventory levels […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S remained negative this week for the 4th consecutive week after being in positive territory for the prior 15 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price movements […]
Tonight’s issue is a mouth full. There are times when events occur which need more than 300 words to address. And, in the steel industry, there can be many viewpoints on the same subject. OCTG is one of those subjects. I hope you found the three articles from David Phelps, Paul Lowrey and Peter Brebach. […]
It was a crazy day as all of the government data was not released until 5 PM ET or later – and there was a lot of it. Perhaps the most interesting is the US Department of Commerce “preliminary dumping margins” on oil country tubular goods. Maybe I should restate that – the most interesting […]
The move by the domestic mills to reach $700+ per ton hot rolled is nothing but a blur in the rear view mirror according to the various steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Flat rolled steel prices fell across the board on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels this past week. The […]
For the last couple of weeks we have been discussing various kinds of ethical issues that come up in the steel business. This week we will deal with the issue of when flat rolled steel is rejectable. Buyers and sellers often find that they disagree about the quality of the steel. Generally this problem is […]
Steel Market Update will conduct our mid-February flat rolled steel market analysis beginning on Monday morning at 8 AM ET. We encourage those who receive an invitation to participate in our survey to click on the link and spend five minutes answering our inquiries about market conditions, demand, inventories, foreign steel and steel pricing. All […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S remained negative this week for the 3rd consecutive week after being in positive territory for the prior 15 weeks. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price movements […]
We will hopefully have information and a date for a new workshop we have under development. The new workshop is tentatively being called: Managing Price Risk: Strategies & Execution. The workshop will be for those who already have some knowledge of hot rolled coil (HRC) and busheling (BUS) futures and options trading. Our intention is […]
On Monday, Steel Market Update revised our SMU Price Momentum Indicator from Neutral to Lower. The adjustment means we anticipate flat rolled steel prices will move lower over the next 30 to 60 days. At the time of the change, SMU benchmark hot rolled coil was published at $660 per ton. The last adjustment to […]
For those of you watching the weather you may be aware that Atlanta is suffering through another winter weather event. Since our offices are located north of Atlanta that means we are suffering as well. The good news for me personally is I decided to spend a few days in Florida after attending the Port […]
Steel Market Update conducted our early February flat rolled steel market survey this week. We are pleased to provide our Premium Level members a Power Point presentation on the results which can be access on our website (when logged in) under the Analysis Tab (SMU Survey Results sub-menu). If you are already logged in you […]
Last week we started a discussion on the kinds of ethical issues that buyers and salespeople are exposed to in their everyday activities. The most difficult ethical issues arise because Buyers and Sellers have a fundamental tension in their relationship; they are counterparties negotiating deals where each wants the most for themselves while giving up […]
One of the interesting tidbits that came out of the ArcelorMittal conference call last week was their intention of taking down the #7 blast furnace at Indiana Harbor for two months beginning in May. They also discussed the purchase of ThyssenKrupp which they feel will be completed by the end of March (end of 1st […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) began collecting responses earlier this week from the just shy 600 companies invited to participate in our twice monthly flat rolled steel market analysis. The individuals responding to our questions this week – particularly those related to our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index – were being influenced by weather related issues […]
Based on the results of our steel market survey which we just completed this afternoon, lead times out of the domestic mills remained relatively constant compared to what we reported during the middle of January. Hot rolled lead times slipped to 3.89 weeks (average) down from 4.09 weeks. Cold rolled remained over 6 weeks at […]