Category: Market Data

SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices both fell during the week of Dec. 6, based on our most recent survey data.

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) slipped in November due to a general decrease in slightly weaker commercial and institutional activity, according to the latest Dodge Construction Network (DCN) data.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) held a hearing on Dec. 7 with testimonies from members of the domestic steel industry. The USITC is leading a fact-finding investigation on US greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

The percentage of steel buyers saying mills were willing to budge on spot pricing has risen for all sheet products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.

Movements in lead times were mixed in SMU’s check of the market this week – a reflection of the seasonal dip in ordering that is typically seen during the winter holiday season.

On Dec. 6, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) reintroduced the Clean Competition Act, an environmental trade directive that would impose charges on imports from more carbon-intensive manufacturers.

A group of organizations and stakeholders introduced a set of Steel Standards Principles at the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel sheet prices, lead times, scrap prices, performance, purchasing, and demand. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact david@steelmarketupdate.com to be included […]

Sheet prices shot higher again this week on the heels of another round of mill price increases as well as on reports of production and supply chain issues at certain domestic producers.

Steel prices continued to rally last month on the back of repeated mill price increases after tags reached a 2023 low of $645 per ton in late September. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended November at an average of $923 per ton ($46.15 per cwt), rising by $140 per ton during the month. The SMU Price […]

Mining-metal group Rio Tinto has completed a transaction to purchase half of US aluminum recycling company Matalco from owner, the Giampaolo Group, for $700 million (€638 million), subject to final closing adjustments. The companies will turn Matalco into a 50:50 joint venture. The investment will expand Rio Tinto’s aluminum business in the US, where demand […]

Activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted once again in November.

The Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) announced on Dec. 4 the appointment of an executive director.

The Canadian government has given ArcelorMittal-linked Baffinland Iron Mines permission to dispatch up to 6 million metric tons per year from its Mary River mine in Nunavut territory, higher than the 4.2 million metric tons per year previously permitted. The approval from northern affairs minister Dan Vandal allows Baffinland to make the extra shipments if […]

In its Beige Book report released on Nov. 29, the Federal Reserve noted slower economic activity since October's report.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand, inventories, imports, and what people were talking about in the market.

Sector fundamentals for US steel companies remain solid overall, according to ratings agency Fitch’s 2024 outlook report.

SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices have both increased, based on our most recent survey data as of Wednesday, Nov. 22.

Canada and the EU have established a Green Alliance, pledging to align their domestic and international climate policies in the pursuit of climate neutrality.

Lead times for all steel sheet products but cold rolled were extended last week as prices trend upwards.

The percentage of steel buyers saying mills were willing to negotiate spot pricing has fallen for all products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.

New orders for manufactured durable goods fell in the US in October.

A year after signing purchase agreements with two US steelmakers, Trane Technologies has shipped more than 1 million HVAC units produced with low-carbon steel.

US housing starts crept higher for a second consecutive month in October. Starts were lower, however than the same month last year, according to the most recent data from the US Census Bureau.

Turkish scrap import prices increased for a third consecutive week.

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized sheet base prices has been hovering near $200 per net ton since late July, according to SMU’s latest analysis.

Increasing mortgage rates have caused builders to lose confidence in the market, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

European Aluminium, an association representing the entire European aluminum value chain, announced in a press release that it supports the European Commission's proposed 12th package of sanctions against Russia.

Surging US sheet prices and expanding lead times are making imports more attractive. The automotive workers’ strike is essentially over, and domestic US sheet prices have rocketed higher alongside lead times. There is little to suggest that the momentum of these price increases will slow over the next month or two, and thus imports have […]

SMU discussed wind energy, a promising end-use market for steel, with SSAB Americas’ SVP and CCO Jeff Moskaluk.