Category: Raw Material Prices

Will more DRI investment come to the US?

The resistance Brazilian pig iron sellers had shown to accepting lower prices has proved short-lived, sources told SMU.

Brazilian pig iron prices fail to rise after ferrous scrap market settle.

How is the ferroalloys market in the US faring with the new tariffs.

CRU analysts discuss how downward pressure on the US premium has persisted due to weakness in key consuming sectors, while concerns over zinc supply have been largely alleviated for the time being.

The US mills have managed to reduce pig iron prices to correspond with the sharp declines in domestic scrap prices in May.

Since the US ferrous scrap settlements for May have been finalized, steelmakers are turning their attention to continued pig iron flows with the wind behind their backs.

The pig iron markets have been quiet for the last several weeks, as tariff implementation on imports into the US became a reality. There has been debate on which party will have to pay the tariff. A recent transaction could provide the answer to that question.

Iron ore prices were largely steady in March, hovering around $100–102 per dry metric ton (dmt) in a quiet market.

There are several other tariffs implications concerning the ferrous raw materials sector. In addition to tariffs on DRI/HBI imports, there will be also be a tariff on raw materials imported to domestically based metallics producers. 

The imposition of reciprocal tariffs by President Trump as explained on Wednesday afternoon has rattled virtually every market. This policy has some advantages for the steelmaking sector, but there may be some disadvantages that were not considered, especially for the EAF producers of flat-rolled.

The price of pig iron for the US market remains firm despite a potential drop in domestic ferrous scrap prices going into April.

While overall steel demand remains weak in the near term, there are reasons to expect metallurgical coal prices will increase over the course of the year, Ramaco says.

“The next months are going to be good ones for pig iron producers," according to one source.

SMU's Stephen Miller provides an update on the raw materials sector.

There has been considerable upward movement in the US prices paid for future shipment of Brazilian-produced pig iron over the last week. 

A comparison of the current cost of pig iron vs. busheling scrap.

On Jan. 18, Teck Resources announced that it expects its Trail smelter in Canada to produce 190,000 to 230,000 metric tons (mt) in 2025, down 10-25% from its 256,000 mt output in 2024. The company announced that the lower output was to maximize profitability and value amid the current tightness in zinc concentrate availability relative […]

There is no doubt pig iron will be needed to fuel the expansion of flat-roll capacity in the US and Canada. Where will it come from? How much will it cost? What will be the quality? Is it a good business to produce merchant pig iron? The US imports between 4-6 million metric tons (mt) per year of […]

Pig iron prices declined in all regions as the EU’s 2025 import quota on Russian pig iron has begun, loosening global supply.

A bleak outlook for steel demand has undermined market confidence, contributing to the drop in prices.

Prices for pig iron imports into the US continue to retreat in the face of regional weakness in demand for ferrous raw materials in South Asia and the Far East.

The prices being paid by US-based buyers has continued to decline as ferrous raw material demand across the globe remains weak.

On Monday, Nucor published new extras effective Jan, 4, 2025.

The slowdown in North American zinc demand in recent months has played out across all sectors, and CRU now expects it to contract by 3.7% y/y.

Prices were stable to down in November for all seven steelmaking raw materials tracked by SMU, according to our latest analysis.

Ferrous scrap prices were largely rangebound to down at the November settle, market sources told SMU.

The pig iron markets have retreated over the last two months amidst a concerted effort by US-based buyers to drive down prices to more closely follow the lower domestic scrap prices.

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.

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