Lead times for spot orders of cold rolled and coated products have now extended to more than 10 weeks, while lead times for hot rolled now exceed nine weeks, based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week. Despite widespread expectations that mill lead times are overdue to reverse course as supplies catch […]
Steel Market Update data shows no significant change in the negotiating position of steel buyers, who remain largely at the mercy of the mills. More than nine out of 10 buyers responding to SMU’s questionnaire this week reported the mills unwilling to discuss price concessions—which has been the mills’ attitude for the past five months. […]
All but a tiny 3% of respondents to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week reported that the flat rolled mills remain unwilling to negotiate steel prices. Plate negotiations are only slightly more open, with 17% of buyers saying there is some wiggle room in price talks with the plate producers. As long as steel demand […]
Severe winter weather across much of the U.S. has slowed commerce to a crawl in many areas, including disruptions to steel production and shipments that could linger for days. The National Weather Service warned Tuesday that the major winter storm responsible for producing big snow and ice accumulations in parts of the central and eastern […]
Manufacturing activity grew modestly in New York State in February, said the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The general business index soared nine points to register 12.1 as new orders picked up during the month. Shipments posted a small increase, but delivery times rose at the fastest […]
Flat Rolled = 40 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 46.5 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled End-of-January service center flat rolled steel inventories fell back to levels seen in November 2020. At the end of January, service centers carried 40 shipping days of supply – tied with November for the lowest inventory level in […]
Steel product shipments continued to improve through December, reporting an increase for the ninth consecutive month. Steel product shipments exceeded pre-pandemic levels to close out the year following a steady but slow rebound since reaching bottom in April 2020, according to Census Bureau data on inventories, shipments and new orders for total U.S. manufacturing and […]
U.S active rotary drill rig counts increased again last week, while Canadian rig counts declined, according to data released by oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The rig count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 8 […]
Join CRU’s webinar on Feb. 17 on lowering carbon emissions and hear CRU’s leading analysts discuss how the global spotlight on sustainability has challenged commodity industries—namely steel and aluminum supply chains. Why attend? Gain visibility of emissions along the global steel value chain Understand what makes emissions data “good” and why it is necessary, if […]
Steel buyers are feeling good about their prospects later this year, as this week’s Steel Market Update Future Sentiment Index saw its highest reading in more than two years at +66, a 13-point jump over the past two weeks. Current Sentiment, which saw a small, four-point bump to +68, is equally optimistic. Every two weeks, […]
Steel and scrap prices continued to climb throughout January, fueled by strong demand and tight supply. Hot rolled steel prices surpassed $1,000 per ton in the first week of the year, levels not seen in over a decade. Steel Market Update’s hot rolled price index reached $1,140 per ton by the end of January, up […]
Supply chain disruptions and material shortages slowed global manufacturing expansion in January. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.5 last month from 43.8 in December and to a three-month low. Overall, however, the manufacturing sector remained robust with most nations reporting expansion in the sector. Production and new orders rose in January, but new […]
The manufacturing sector continued to expand in January posting a PMI of 58.7 in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI slipped slightly from December’s reading of 60.5, but indicated an eighth month of expansion for the overall economy, said the Institute for Supply Management. “The manufacturing economy continued its recovery in January. […]
Like other ecommerce platforms, Felux.com finds itself in the right place at the right time. With steel prices at record highs and spot steel availability at extreme lows, the digital marketplace is drawing a lot of interest from both buyers and sellers, said Chief Business Officer Dallas Hogensen. “Steel supply is as dry as the […]
Business activity accelerated in the Chicago area in January, says the latest analysis by MNI Indicators and the Institute for Supply Management. The Chicago Business Barometer jumped 5.1 points to 63.8, its highest level since July 2018. Production soared 9.9 points along with a 7.9-point surge in new orders. Order backlogs expanded for a third […]
The steel industry’s ecommerce platforms have drawn a lot of interest lately from buyers searching for material and sellers searching for the highest price. John Armstrong, president and CEO of Reibus, said his online platform is thriving despite—or perhaps because of—the tight market conditions. “The volatility drives buyers to look for new solutions. Our tool […]
Orders for durable goods rose for an eighth month in December, gaining 0.2 percent after an upward revision to 1.2 percent in November. Growth was below economists’ projections of 0.8 percent and the smallest increase since August. The pullback in momentum was primarily due to a sharp drop in aircraft orders. Excluding the volatile category […]
U.S. industrial production, manufacturing and durable goods orders through December continued to show improvement from the coronavirus pandemic downturn. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. The Industrial Production Index The IP index is a gauge of output from factories, mines and utilities. Industrial production […]
Cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline project by the Biden administration will have some impact on the steel market in North America, specifically supply and demand for line pipe, but the effect is difficult to assess, say the experts. On his first day in office Wednesday, President Biden followed through on his green-energy campaign promise […]
U.S and Canadian active rotary drill rig counts increased again this week, according to data released by oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The rig count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 5 to 378, with […]
If the market is getting anxious about a coming correction in steel prices, there are few signs of it yet in industry sentiment data, as measured by Steel Market Update. Current Sentiment remains at an optimistic level in the mid-60s where it has ranged since October. Future Sentiment is slightly less bullish but still above typical […]
The average lead time on spot orders of hot rolled steel from the mill declined slightly for the second time in Steel Market Update’s biweekly survey and is now more than a half-week shorter than at this time last month. Lead times for other flat rolled products remained relatively unchanged, however, in SMU’s latest check […]
After registering a slight dip in Steel Market Update data two weeks ago, lead times for delivery of spot orders of hot rolled steel inched back out again this week to an average of nearly eight weeks. SMU and most in the market have been watching closely for signs that lead times are beginning to […]
There has been little to no price negotiations between spot buyers and the mills since September, and Steel Market Update data shows no sign that is changing. More than nine out of 10 buyers responding to SMU’s questionnaire this week (note the predominant blue bars) reported that the mills are almost always unwilling to negotiate […]
With one month of the new year in the record books, steel demand continues to outpace supplies, leaving the mills in a dominant negotiating position. Roughly nine out of 10 buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week reported that their mill reps are unwilling to talk price on virtually all flat rolled and […]
Manufacturing firms in 2021 will see a continuation of the growth trend that began last June, says a new forecast by the Institute for Supply Management. The December 2020 Semiannual Economic Forecast offers an optimistic outlook for revenues, operating capacity, capital expenditures and employment levels in 2021. “Manufacturing’s purchasing and supply executives expect to see strong […]
Flat Rolled = 51.3 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 50.8 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled Service center flat rolled steel inventories found their low point in November and bounced back up in December. Service centers carried 51.3 shipping days of supply at the end of December, up from 40 in November. The data […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett and Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook This month has brought good and bad news. On the one hand, vaccines are being rolled out, and further U.S. fiscal stimulus looks increasingly likely. On the other hand, the growing severity of the second wave of COVID-19 means […]
The upward trend in mill shipments and supply of sheet products continues, although the pace fell off as the fourth quarter carried on. After reaching bottom in June, as a result of the global pandemic, mill shipments and supply maintained a slow but steady upward trajectory through November 2020. This analysis is based on steel […]
This report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of the competitive positions of sheet steel, aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis includes some downstream products and a comparison of truck and rail transportation. On Jan. 15, the BLS released its series of […]