Category: Market Data

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

Representatives of at least six companies interested in acquiring AHMSA have reportedly begun to carry out physical inspections of the insolvent company’s assets.

Sheet and plate lead times saw minor shifts this week, according to SMU’s latest market survey. Sheet times have inched up over the last month but remain within days of multi-year lows, as they have since May. Plate lead times have bobbed within a tight range for months, hovering roughly a week longer than this time last year.

The Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) latest monthly report on manufacturing reflects a bleak view of American industry in September.

Trade groups cautioned that a prolonged shutdown could strain US industry.   

Steel buyers say mills remain slightly more willing to negotiate spot prices for sheet and plate products than in mid-September, according to our latest market survey.

The Italian government has received 10 offers for the former Ilva integrated steel works at Taranto, but only two bidders are interested in purchasing all of the company’s assets.

In the Americas, the ongoing conversion to EAF melting is driving demand for prime grades of scrap and increased use of ore-based metallics

Market participants predicted that prices should be at or near a bottom. But while most seemed to agree on that point, many also said they saw little upside given a quiet spot market and ongoing concerns about demand.

The Chicago Business Barometer's September reading indicates a softening in overall business activity in the Midwest for the third consecutive month, with new orders and backlogs retreating further.

Metalforming manufacturers anticipate a decrease in near-term conditions, according to the Precision Metalforming Association's (PMA) Business Conditions Report for September.

Voestalpine and partners have begun building an industrial-scale Hy4Smelt demonstration plant in Linz, Austria, which they hope will become key in the decarbonization of steel.

Meanwhile, the nation’s largest rail union said they supported the tie-up between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern once Union Pacific agreed to secure union jobs.

Market chatter from steel buyers this week: prices steady to slightly higher, demand weak, inventories slow, and tariffs clouding the outlook.

Architecture firms reported a modest improvement in billings through August, yet business conditions remained soft, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) release from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.

Sheet and plate prices were flat or lower this week as less discounting from domestic mills was offset by few signs of an anticipated rebound in demand.

US nonresidential building starts fell 5.4% in August, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $431 billion, according to the latest data released by Dodge Construction Network. 

The analysis below was first published by CRU. To learn about CRU’s global commodities research and analysis services, visit www.crugroup.com.  One-in-three companies have paused or delayed stainless steel orders because of disruption caused by the wave of import duties imposed worldwide this year, according to a survey conducted for Outokumpu of Finland. Other responses include more […]

For the next month, CRU forecasts that global demand for steelmaking raw materials will increase month on month (m/m).

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices diverged this week. The Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index continued its recovery from the five-year low seen one month ago. Meanwhile, Future Buyers’ Sentiment gave back some of the ground gained in recent surveys.

Sheet times ticked higher but remain within days of multi-year lows, territory they have been in since May. Plate lead times have shifted lower in the past month but remain about a week longer than they were at this time last year.

Housing starts slowed in the US in August as affordability challenges and cautious builder sentiment weighed on new construction activity.

Sheet and plate buyers say mills remain open to negotiating spot prices this week, though less so than in recent weeks, according to SMU’s latest market survey.

The US Department of Commerce announced that its second window for submitting applications for the inclusion of derivative steel and aluminum products in Section 232 tariffs is now open, according to the US Federal Register.  September’s Inclusion Window Sept. 15 through Sept. 29, applicants can email requests for inclusions to the Defense Industrial Base Programs.  The first […]

US service centers flat-rolled steel supply in August declined month-over-month (m/m) and year-over-year (y/y), according to SMU data.

SMU’s price ranges were mixed again this week as the market continues to seek a floor amid industry hopes for a Q4 rebound.

Rising Midwest and European premiums are giving Canadian aluminum producers a rare boost, restoring pricing power just ahead of key 2026 negotiations.

Apparent supply totaled 8.88 million short tons (st) in July, down 38,000 st from June and 6% higher than the same month last year

The price spread between prime scrap and hot-rolled coil (HRC) narrowed by a hair this month, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.