Category: Market Data

The overall steel mill negotiation rate jumped 14 percentage points this week vs. the last market check, with plate's rate rising by eight percentage points, according to SMU's most recent survey data.

Steel mill lead times were basically flat again this week compared to our previous market check, with production times shrinking slightly for hot rolled and cold rolled, and extending for galvanized, Galvalume, and plate.

Turkish scrap import prices rose due to conclusion of several deals towards the end of last week as key buyers and sellers re-entered the market.

US apparent steel supply declined 2% in July to 8.28 million net tons compared to the previous month, according to data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). 

Steel prices kept falling throughout last month. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended August at $725 per ton ($36.25 per cwt) on average, having fallen by $105 per ton during the month.

Luxembourg-headquartered ArcelorMittal has placed the contract for a reversible 6-high cold rolling mill to produce high-grade, non-oriented silicon steel strip (NGO) for use in electric motors. The unit will be installed at the group’s Mardyck plant near Dunkirk in northeastern France where it is adding a 200,000 t/y rolling mill to produce electrical steels for electric vehicles […]

The US Federal Reserve said that although overall economic activity was modest in July and August, per its latest Beige Book Report released on Sept. 6, the report was still slightly more optimistic than the previous one.

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) moved lower in August, driven by a slowdown in planning from tighter lending standards, according to the latest data from the Dodge Construction Network (DCN).

Activity in the US manufacturing sector continues to slow, according to the latest monthly report on business from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand levels, sheet prices abroad, inventory, and what people are talking about in the market. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words.

Steel Market Update’s Demand Index is still in contracting territory and moving lower, where it has been for the better part of the past four-plus months, according to the latest survey data.

Turkish scrap import prices have remained relatively stable over the past two weeks due to slow trade activity. This was partly due to the holiday on August 30. CRU’s latest price assessment for HMS1/2 80:20 is $368 /metric ton CFR, up $1 /metric ton week-over-week (WoW) and up $21 /metric ton month-over-month (MoM). The holiday […]

The latest SMU Market Survey results are now available on our website to all Premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the Pricing and Analysis tab and look under the “Survey Results” section for “Latest Survey Results.” Historical survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

The Chicago Business Barometer edged up in August. This is the third consecutive monthly increase according to the latest indicators from Market News International (MNI) and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).

Steel mill lead times were largely unchanged this week, with hot rolled extending slightly and plate falling back marginally.

SMU's Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices both edged down this week, based on our most recent survey data.

The overall mill negotiation rate slipped this week, though plate jumped, rising by 25 percentage points, according to SMU's most recent survey data.

Construction jobs may have increased year over year in July, but many positions remain unfilled.

Although some construction companies have a backlog, many jobs are getting put on hold, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council.

United Auto Workers (UAW) at battery cell maker Ultium Cells in Lordstown, Ohio, ratified an interim labor agreement over the weekend.

As the Oct. 31 deadline approaches to reach an agreement on steel matters, the US and EU are headed for an impasse.

In a Steel Summit fireside chat, Karla Lewis, president and CEO of service center group Reliance Steel & Aluminum, sat down with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden to talk about current demand trends and where she’s leading her company.

The Mexican government has placed temporary levies of 25% on inward-bound shipments of steel products from countries with which it does not have a free trade agreement.

After four months of increases, orders for durable goods in the US dropped in July.

This year, the 13th annual edition of our Summit, we polled more than 1,450 attendees about where prices and demand would be, come August 2024.

Will there be a recession in 2023? Steel Summit keynote speaker Gene Marks weighed in on what he thinks about the possibility of a recession.

July was a stable month for business at architectural firms, according to the month's Architecture Billings Index (ABI) reading from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek .

Reshoring or nearshoring in manufacturing is real and happening now. And that trend is driving steel consumption, executives from steelmaker Ternium and service center group Reliance Steel & Aluminum said at SMU’s Steel Summit this week in Atlanta.

To kick off the official sessions of the 2023 Steel Summit, Dr. Anirban Basu, chairman and CEO of the Sage Policy Group, focused on the broader context in which steel prices are set, outlining major factors currently shaping economic outcomes in our country.

Steel Market Update’s Demand Index remains in contracting territory, where it has been for most of the last four months, according to the latest survey data. While the market did react temporarily in response to mill price hikes in mid-June, apparent demand for flat-rolled steel in the US continues to trend down.