Steel buyers need to be aware that there has been a jump in iron ore spot pricing in China over the past 48 hours. The Steel Index (TSI) reported 62% Fe fines into the port of Tianjin, China at $64.3/dmt (dry metric ton) up 4 percent from the previous day. This same item is up […]
We should see the pace of the price increases slow down as most mills are getting the announced minimum price levels from their spot buyers ($25.00-$26.00/cwt HR, $35.00/cwt cold rolled and coated). The market needs a couple of weeks to absorb the increases and push them down to the end users and resale spot customers. […]
This week’s newsletters may seem a little “muted” compared to the past, this is due to my right hand man – Brett Linton – being on vacation. Brett is the one responsible for keeping track of all of the data points and graphics in both the newsletter and website. He is also responsible for crunching […]
I will be doing an article in Sunday evening’s newsletter about the AISI capacity utilization numbers. The AISI produces their “estimate” of steel production and the percentage of capacity utilization based on 50 percent (or fewer) of the mills reporting production data. I have considered not publishing the data at all because, in my opinion, […]
You will be hearing and seeing much more about whether China should be allowed to have “market economy” status. While I don’t pretend to be an expert on the subject, I am learning that as a market economy any trade suits against China would have to be conducted differently than what is currently being done […]
We only have a few spots left for our upcoming Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop. If you or your company has interest in attending the May 17-18, 2016 workshop, which will be located in Sylvania, Ohio (just outside of Toledo) at the Wingate Hotel, please register online or contact our […]
Late in the day we received notification that Evraz Flat Rolled Group has advised their customers of their intention to take transactional prices (spot) up by a minimum of $50 per ton. One of the more interesting comments I got today was from a Chicago based service center who reported being asked if he could […]
NLMK USA was the first mill to raise prices, going up $40 per ton. I am hearing comments from both sides on whether the price increases are a good or bad thing. My personal opinion is prices got a little “over-done” last year and dropped too low. A hot rolled number closer to $500 may […]
We have been asked about the possible restart of the blast furnace at AK Steel or the furnaces at Granite City as steel prices rise and lead times remain extended. We spoke with a couple of analysts over the weekend who told us they did not see the AK Steel furnace running at any point […]
Good evening from Naples, Florida (warm, sunny) where the Association of Steel Distributors is holding its Spring Meeting. I am looking forward to the business meeting portion and presentations which will be coming on Friday and Saturday. I will report on what I learn in Sunday evening’s edition of Steel Market Update. The sense or […]
SMU still has a number of open spots available for our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop. The workshop will be held just outside of Toledo, Ohio as part of our program will be a tour of one of the most successful flat rolled mini-mills in the United States, the […]
As we head into the Good Friday and Easter weekend holiday we want to wish everyone an enjoyable time with family and friends. Steel Market Update will not publish a newsletter on Sunday so our next official publication will be on Tuesday evening of next week. Even so, that should not prevent you for communicating […]
Steel mills are still scrounging for ferrous scrap with little luck. We are hearing from our scrap sources that prices could be up as much as $30 per ton and we have even heard some numbers higher than $30. The net result will be more pressure on steel and steel prices as the mills scramble […]
A quick reminder that our next Steel 101 workshop which will be held just outside of Toledo, Ohio on May 17-18th of this year, is about half full. We already have an excellent group of manufacturing companies, service centers and steel mills attending. On the afternoon of the first day we will tour the North […]
OK, so it’s March Madness and most of our readers want to watch their favorite team or test their skills at nailing their bracket and bragging rights around the water cooler in the morning. For the steel industry March Madness is taking a different meaning. More price increase announcements, full order books and a win […]
The ruling regarding the preliminary determination of dumping of hot rolled steel out of Australia, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom was announced this evening. You will hear split opinions as to whether the ruling is a “win” or “loss” for the domestic steel mills. It is my opinion that this […]
We have added the 2016 Steel Summit Agenda to our website. We continue to tweak the program as we search for the best speakers and subjects that are key to those attending our conference at the end of August (August 29-31, 2016) in Atlanta. We have an exceptional agenda already with keynote speakers representing the […]
SMU sources have advised us that there were two vessels of pig iron sold out of Brazil to the United States at $200 per metric ton NOLA. This represents a $12 per ton increase over last sales ($188 per metric ton). Shipment of the pig iron is anticipated for April/May out of Brazil. Fifteen years […]
Ted Cruz said it best the other night while debating Donald Trump, “breathe, breathe, breathe….” While speaking to one of my longtime steel buying contacts we began discussing the mentality to this market as there are many “unknowns” such as exactly what the heck is going on in China. We were discussing the difference between […]
On Friday the Wall Street Journal wrote an article about the AK Steel price increase announcement and Steel Market Update was quoted in the article. The article was picked up by the Dow Jones and NASDAQ news feeds. Here is a copy of the article for those who may be interested. I have been an […]
When speaking to one of my steel sources earlier today I was told, “Three months ago no one cared about the steel market. Now you have to pay attention.” They went on to reference our coverage and how others in the industry need to be reading what we are producing at Steel Market Update. Obviously, […]
The US Department of Commerce provided the domestic steel industry a “win” according to early reaction to the just released preliminary determination of antidumping (AD) against China, Brazil, Japan, Russia, India, Korea and the United Kingdom. I have to imagine some will be surprised at the high penalties assigned to a number of countries (see […]
Happy Academy Award (Oscar) Night… We will begin our early March flat rolled steel market trend analysis on Monday morning. If you receive an invitation to participate please take a few moments to click on the button contained in the message which will take you to our questionnaire. If you would like to participate in […]
On Tuesday evening we published an article regarding the HARDI wholesaler steel conference call. During the call one of the wholesalers referred to Kloeckner Metals Corporation as one of the service centers they were having competitive issues with. An executive with Kloeckner saw our article and responded to the comment made and quoted in our […]
We have been hard at work on our 2016 Steel Summit Conference. There is no doubt in my mind that this will be the best conference program we have ever assembled and one of the finest networking opportunities for those involved in the steel industry. I want everyone to know that I am open to […]
I received a comment/question over the weekend regarding our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index. The comment came in the form of a LinkedIn comment to one of our posts regarding the most recent Sentiment Index announcement. The question was from a financial analyst who asked us why our Sentiment Index did not reflect the WARN […]
I attended the Port of Tampa Steel Conference (their 27th) and it was one of the strongest programs I personally have seen the Port of Tampa produce over the past eight years or so. This being an election year, the Port provided an exceptional speaker to put the whole process of selecting a president in […]
A reminder that our next Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop will be just outside of Toledo, Ohio and we will be touring a mill as one of the best run mini-mills in the country – North Star Bluescope Steel. You can find more details about our program, instructors, hotel and […]
I was very disappointed to hear the news that Carrier Corporation has decided to move their manufacturing and distribution operations in Indianapolis, Indiana to Monterrey, Mexico. As I heard the news I thought about the 2016 AHR Expo show (co-sponsored by ASHRAE and the AHRI) that I attended at the end of January. That show […]
Sources are telling SMU that the Nucor Decatur EAF’s will be offline for 10 days in early March as the mill replaces one of the furnaces. This is added on top of the idling of the Granite City (USS) and Ashland (AK Steel) hot ends plus the closure of the USS Fairfield hot end. Note […]