Category: Market Segment

India-based JSW Steel’s combined US operations swung to a slight profit in its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026.

The US rig count crept higher for a fourth week, while Canada's count held steady for a second, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes.

US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply fell for a fourth straight month in April, with shipping days of supply slipping to 45.7 on an adjusted basis, according to SMU data.

SMU Survey: Sheet and plate lead times remain extended, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

Buyers continue to report mills are holding a firm grip on sheet and plate prices.

Algoma CEO forges new path against tariff headwinds

U.S. Steel delivered a mixed first quarter. Segment performances diverged sharply as winter weather, outage activity, and major capital projects weighed on results.

Plate market participants wonder how plate supply will hold up in coming weeks and months, sources told SMU.   Some sources called out dwindling availability of heavier grades and said certain domestic producers have “a huge backlog.” of all grades.

Algoma Steel's loss widened in the first quarter as tariffs and the EAF transition impacted its bottom line.

US steel exports improved in March but remain historically low, having trended lower for over a year now.  

What might be in store for the ferrous scrap market this summer?

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the US should pursue separate, bilateral trade negotiations with Canada and Mexico instead of renewing the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Chicago-based pipe and tube manufacturer Zekelman Industries has appointed Jason Nofziger as its vice president of supply chain, effective May 11.

Total heating and cooling equipment shipments jumped 24% from February to March according to recently released AHRI figures.

FabArc Steel Supply announced it will be leasing a 60,000-square-foot fabrication facility on 29 acres in Decatur, Ala.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has revised their metallic coating extras higher for galvanized, Galvalume, Galfan, and aluminized type 1 products.

US mills' capability utilization hit 81.4% last week, up from 80.4% the week prior and from 76.6% a year ago.

In a May 11 price notice, SSAB upped its transaction prices for new, non-contract plate orders confirmed to ship from June 28 onward.

On Monday, Nucor hiked its spot HR price by $10/ton.

Lewis Leibowitz: Recent rulings suggest courts are reinforcing legal limits on tariff authority.

The Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have sent oil and aluminum prices soaring higher. The impact on steel has been mostly indirect but hardly insignificant – especially when it comes to the costs of moving metal.

The process to reduce Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs for producers in Mexico and Canada garnered mixed reactions from steel and metals’ supply chain advocacy groups.  

Sheet market participants found modest spot price increases this past week, but conceded that overall market conditions remained stable.  

A panel of steel executives said bolstering trade also protects it from the Iran war and other geopolitical risks.

Plate market participants expect additional base price hikes from domestic mills, something that has some eyeing imports.

South Korea’s Hyundai and POSCO have chosen Italian mill equipment provider Danieli to build several installations at their proposed steel mill in Louisiana.

Multiple risks continue to cloud the automotive outlook, including semiconductor shortages, tariff uncertainty, weaker demand, policy changes, geopolitical disruption, the war in Iran, supply-chain shocks, protectionism, cost pressures, and intensifying competition.

Following the historical lows seen in recent months, steel import volumes marginally increased in March and April.

The current rally in sheet prices has lasted more than seven months, something without recent precedent. Unless your definition of recent includes the snapback in demand following the pandemic.

Ternium expects steel demand in Mexico to keep improving through the second quarter as destocking fades and new industrial policies take hold.