Category: Region

There are markets where the headlines and the prices are both crazy. This does not appear to be one of them, at least not yet.

Wheatland Tube, a subsidiary of Zekelman Industries, is closing a tube facility in Chicago, with nearly 240 workers being laid off.

US manufacturing activity contracted for the sixth consecutive month in September, according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The index has indicated a contracting industrial sector for 22 of the past 23 months.

The Chicago Business Barometer increased marginally in September but continues to indicate deteriorating business conditions.

Washington loomed large in our surveys this week. Two things actually: the upcoming presidential election and the trade case against imported coated products from 10 nations.

By most accounts, the issues that are most important for voters in this election are the economy, immigration, and abortion. International trade policy plays a key role in at least two of those three (the economy and immigration). Both presidential candidates recognize that trade and tariffs are an important focus. And “America first” is a rallying point for both candidates.

Drilling activity eased in the US last week, while Canadian counts increased, according to the latest data release from Baker Hughes.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices remain in positive territory and continue to indicate optimism amongst steel buyers.

The price gap between US cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore product has shrunk slightly this week ended Sept. 27 as stateside tags edged down. The premium slipped moderately but remains well ahead of the 10-month low from late July.

On Thursday, the Department of Commerce announced it would initiate investigations into coated steel imports from ten countries.

Over three quarters of the steel buyers participating in our market survey this week reported that mills are negotiable on new order prices

Worthington Steel’s earnings tumbled in its fiscal first quarter of 2025. The company cited a drop in selling prices and tons sold for the sales dip for the three months ended Aug. 31.

We saw a slight upward movement in some products compared to early September, but nothing substantial enough to signal a shift in the market.

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices inched up again this past week but remain just a touch more expensive than offshore material on a landed basis.

Barry Zekelman, chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, says the import data unquestionably supports the fact that imports of Mexican conduit have been surging into the US market.

The Conference Board reported that consumer confidence in the US dropped to one of the lowest readings of the year in September. With concerns mounting about business conditions and the labor market, the tumble was the biggest monthly decline since August 2021.

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 prices ranges for flat-rolled steel were mostly sideways on Tuesday even as futures market shot higher. I got some questions as to why hot-rolled (HR) coil futures shot higher. As best as I can tell, it might have been in response to news that China plans to roll out stimulus measures. We have details on those measures here thanks to our colleagues at CRU. The chart below gives you some idea of just how sharply upward the move in HR futures was earlier on Tuesday:

A potential labor strike is threatening to disrupt supply chains up and down the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts beginning next week.

Former President Donald Trump has said he will place a 200% tariff on John Deere products imported into the US if the company makes good on previously announced plans to move some production to Mexico.

SMU’s Key Market Indicators include data on the economy, raw materials, manufacturing, construction, and steel sheet and long products. They offer a snapshot of current sentiment and the near-term expected trajectory of the economy.

It’s officially fall. And here’s a funny thing about steel prices in the fall over the last few years – they tend to move in the opposite direction of the leaves. SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price averaged $676 per short ton (st) in September 2023. That figure increased to $1,035/st in December 2023, a gain of 53% percent. (You can follow along with our pricing tool.)

US presidential campaigns frequently sport an “air of unreality.” No more so than the 2024 campaign, where superlatives fly around like mosquitos. Steel trade has been a feature of political discourse for at least half a century now. Just last week, it proceeded to a new level of “unreality.” Four senators  - Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) - wrote a “bipartisan” letter attacking Mexican exports of steel to the United States. They framed it as a “surge” in US steel imports from Mexico. To address this “surge,” the Senators urge the imposition of 25% tariffs on all steel imports from Mexico.

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.

The price gap between US cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore product widened this week as stateside tags inched up. The premium has been steadily increasing after falling to a 10-month low in late July.

The latest Federal Reserve data paints a healthy and stable manufacturing sector. Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members.

Continued highly competitive steel exports from China, amid weakening global demand, have triggered a wave of trade protectionism across major markets.

They say failure can lead to success. Such was the case for Nate Lerman. While liquidating the inventory of his failed toy truck business, he realized the profit potential in steel, which ultimately led to the creation of Steel Warehouse. Since its founding over 75 years ago in South Bend, Ind., Steel Warehouse has remained […]

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices edged up this past week and remain modestly more expensive than offshore material on a landed basis. Since reaching parity with import prices in late August, domestic prices have been slowly pulling ahead of imports. The move has been driven largely by declines overseas.

The August Architecture Billings Index (ABI) continued to indicate weak business conditions amongst architecture firms through August, according to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.