Category: Region

Domestic plate market participants expressed confidence in the overall improvement of market conditions this week.  

Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to tariffs, imports, and evolving market events.

Algoma Steel said the Section 232 tariff shock continues to shape its business model. The 50% US duty effectively shut the company out of its largest export market, forcing a structural pivot toward Canada.

Nucor Plate Group notified customers it is increasing prices on all rolled products by $40 per short ton (st) and $60/st on all heat treat products.  

The Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) has certified its first Asian steel company.

The spread between domestic hot-rolled coil and prime scrap prices widened in March, marking a six-month trend.

Algoma Steel Inc. added to its mounting losses during the fourth quarter. Sales and shipments plummeted as ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the US force the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker to reconfigure its entire business model.

SMU's sheet and plate prices were flat or higher this week in a US market that remains characterized by extended lead times and limited spot availability.

Reliance Inc. announced two big US government contract wins from its wholly-owned subsidiary AMI Metals Inc.

Worthington Steel reduced its minimum acceptance threshold to 57.5% for its purchase of Kloeckner & Co.  

An administrative review of the anti-dumping duty (AD) order on heavy-walled rectangular pipe and tube from Mexico has found evidence of continued dumping by Mexican companies.

This CRU insight demonstrates how the conflict in Middle East supports metallurgical coal prices and iron ore will be impacted by a potential decline in demand from China and rising costs, while the pellet market will be severely disrupted.

Serviacero USA is set to establish its first US manufacturing operation after purchasing a rail-served site at the Gulf Inland Logistics Park in Houston.

Raw production has trended upwards since the start of the year, reaching a four-year high in February.

Nucor’s consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil increased to $1,010 per short ton (st), up $5/st from last week. 

Prices are moving up and lead times moving. And most people expect them to continue to do so for a little while longer, according to our latest survey results. But there is one big wildcard: the Iran war.

Participants in the US hot- and cold-rolled sheet market cautiously called the week a win as prices inched north and demand picked up.  

Pace Industries plans to close two Muskegon die-casting plants following news of the planned shutdown of its Arkansas facility.

Oil and gas drilling continued to slow in Canada but remained steady in the US this past week.

Cold-rolled (CR) coil prices ticked up in the US this week, matching a similar trend seen in most offshore markets as well.

Market participant comments from this month's SMU Ferrous Scrap Survey.

Mexico’s Secretary of Economy is conducting ‘Operation Clean-Up,” inspecting suspicious steel companies to verify compliance with rules of origin.

Steel buyers remain optimistic for their current and future business prospects, though not as strong as they did one year ago.

The main impact on the ferrous value chain from the Middle East conflict will be the higher energy costs in a prolonged scenario.

Following extensions in February, steel mill lead times held steady or extended further for both sheet and plate products this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product tightened this week, as stateside tags continue to rise.

Most steel buyers responding to our market survey this week said domestic mills remain unwilling to negotiate lower prices for new spot orders.

Since the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s use of IEEPA tariffs, a judge at the Court of International Trade (CIT) has ordered refunds of all IEEPA tariffs. Still, Trump is trying again with a Section 122 global tariff.

Economic activity across the US increased at a light-to-modest pace in seven of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts, according to the US Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book report.  

The Council on American Steel Trade (CAST) introduces itself as “pro-USA steel manufacturing and is led by trade experts representing every level of the American steel supply chain – from iron ore mining and integrated and mini-mills to processors, downstream steel-derivative producers, and the hardworking men and women of America’s steel workforce.”