Category: Product

Steel sheet and plate prices moved lower this week as efforts among some mills to hold the line on tags ran up against continued concerns about demand.

Worthington Enterprises has named Joseph Hayek as the company’s next president and CEO, effective Nov. 1. He will replace Andy Rose, who is retiring.

Domestic steel shipments increased month over month but slipped on year in August.

Iron ore prices spiked as the Chinese market reopened after the country’s seven day holiday, but the rally started to lose steam on Tuesday afternoon.

George Adams said he feels fortunate to be able to work with his kids at SA Recycling, the company his family founded. But that’s not the case with many family-owned businesses.

CRU Senior Steel Analyst Alexandra Anderson shares insight into the current market for long steel products.

All eyes are on the coastwide longshoremen's strike, with many scrambling to assess the situation and understand its implications for their businesses and the economy.

The US scrap market has been in a steady decline for the first nine months of this year. As we enter Q4, there seems to be scant hope things will change in October. However, some players are seeing a bit of light after this month, depending on steelmaker appetite for scrap.

Steel prices ticked higher this week for most of the sheet products SMU tracks, back up to highs last recorded in June and July. Meanwhile, plate prices edged lower following three weeks of stability.

Bull Moose Tube Co. (BMT) will expand its steel pipe and structure operations with a $25 million plant in Gerald, Mo., according to The Economic Times.

We are pleased to share this CRU analysis of the North American zinc market with SMU subscribers.

In this Premium analysis we cover oil and natural gas prices, drilling rig activity, and crude oil stock levels in North America. Energy prices and rig counts are advance indicators of demand for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), line pipe, and other steel products.

SMU’s steel price indices were mixed this week as the market seeks direction. All of our indices have fluctuated within relatively narrow ranges across September.

Last week, iron ore prices dropped below $90 per dry metric ton (dmt) for the second time in the past two years. However, prices rebounded strongly today and ended the week at $93.5/dmt, driven by the stimulus announcement in China.

US rig counts remain near multi-year lows, which is the territory they have been in for the last three months. Canadian counts have edged lower in the past two weeks, slipping from a six-month high earlier this month.

Gerdau Long Steel North America plans to acquire Dale’s Recycling Partnership, a Tennessee-based operator and processor of ferrous scrap.

SMU is pleased to share the latest news from the global pig iron markets from our sister publication, Recycled Metals Update.

SMU’s steel price indices were steady to higher this week. Each of our sheet indices crept upwards from last week, while our plate index was unchanged.

The price gap between US cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore product is a bit broader this week despite slightly lower tags stateside. The premium is still widening since falling to a 10-month low in late July.

Oil and gas drilling activity in the US recovered the week ended Sept. 13, but remains near multi-year lows.

The price spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap widened again in September, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

The US plate market finds itself in unfamiliar territory, well maybe unfamiliar territory for this side of the post-Covid “normal,” that is.

September scrap prices came in a soft sideways, with only mild hopes for a higher October, market sources said.  

Negotiation rates have edged lower from our previous market check, a downward trend witnesses since July.

Industrial recycler PADNOS announced its acquisition of three scrap operations in the Midwest.

SMU’s steel price indices showed mixed signals for a second consecutive week. Our hot rolled, cold rolled, and plate price indices inched lower from last week, as the galvanized index held steady and Galvalume's ticked higher.

U.S. Steel has rolled out “ZMAG,” a flat-rolled coated steel product intended to endure harsh weather conditions.

July represents the second-lowest monthly rate for steel imports so far this year.

Oil and gas drilling activity in the US edged lower last week, while the Canadian rig count held steady at a six-month high.

This month’s column on the markets could be a response to the question of last month, “Are the forward curve prices on Aug. 7 high enough to price in trade case risks?" The market’s answer has been a pretty resounding YES so far, I think.