Category: Region

Foreign cold-rolled (CR) coil remains much less expensive than domestic product, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rose this week to reach some of the highest levels seen this year.

GrafTech is reporting weak near-term demand for graphite electrodes as economic uncertainty constrains steel production globally.

If successful in its overtures to Anglo American, BHP will create the world’s largest diversified miner by a country mile. The rationale for this merger is scale and in mining, size matters. 

Hot-rolled coil and plate lead times contracted this week, with most other products remaining flat, according to SMU's most recent survey data. Cold-rolled products, however, saw lead times extend 0.1 weeks to an average of 7.5 weeks vs. two weeks earlier. Hot rolled and plate lead times both contracted 0.3 weeks from our last market check.

Week-over-week trading activity in US steel derivatives markets was relatively muted, with prices maintaining their downward direction since the beginning of the month. Bids have materialized at the lower end of this range in the May, as the nearby backwardation continues to roll on - just as we saw with April being a premium over May.

I’ve gotten some questions lately about whether the huge gap between domestic hot-rolled coil (HR) prices and those for cold-rolled (CR) and coated is sustainable. I remember being asked similar questions about the wide spread between HR and plate that developed in early 2022. I thought at the time that there was no way that spread could hold. Turned out, I was wrong. That was humbling. And so I’m not going to make any bold predictions this time.

Sheet steel buyers said mills are more willing to talk price on spot orders, according to our most recent survey data.

Destocking at service centers and a downturn in steel pricing impacted Ternium’s shipments in Mexico in the first quarter of the year.

Steel imports held steady in March, up just 1% from February according to preliminary Census data released earlier this week.

US hot-rolled (HR) coil remains more expensive than offshore hot band, though with a tighter premium as prices stateside and abroad have ticked lower in recent weeks.

With strength in the sector and customers needing the product it produces, Cleveland-Cliffs’ chief executive says the company will be more selective with the automotive customers it chooses to serve.

Last week gave us a glimpse into the effect of the 2024 election campaign on trade policy. In a major announcement, the Biden administration pressed the US Trade Representative (USTR) to triple certain Section 301 tariffs on steel and aluminum. It’s a lot to unpack. You can find the full text of the announcement here. […]

Steel sheet prices in many regions of the world were steady week over week in the week ended April 17.

Foreign cold-rolled (CR) coil remains less expensive than domestic product, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.

Drilling activity increased in the US but declined in Canada, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes.

Here’s a roundup of the latest news in the global aluminum market from our colleagues at CRU. Biden calls for tripling of Chinese steel and aluminum tariffs President Joe Biden is calling on the US Trade Representative (USTR) to consider increasing the existing section 301 import duty on Chinese steel and aluminum three-fold. The current […]

It has been a crazy 2024 so far for hot-rolled coil (HRC) futures!!! 

While general economic conditions across the US improved slightly over the last six weeks, activity in the manufacturing sector was weak, according to the Fed’s latest Beige Book report.

A lot of economists were predicting a recession last year. Ken Simonson, chief economist for The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), wasn’t one of them.

US hot-rolled (HR) coil has become gradually more expensive than offshore hot band in recent weeks, as stateside prices have stabilized while imports moved lower.

In this Premium analysis we cover North American oil and natural gas prices, drilling rig activity, and crude oil stock levels.

North American auto assemblies ticked up in March vs. the prior month, according to LMC Automotive data. While assemblies were up month on month (m/m), they are down 4.5% year on year (y/y).

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced measures to support the domestic steel industry.

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

Following a strong February, US housing starts eased through March to a seven-month low, according to the most recent data from the US Census Bureau.

US light-vehicle (LV) sales rose to an unadjusted 1.44 million units in March, up 4.6% vs. year-ago levels, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The year-on-year (y/y) growth in domestic LV sales came in despite a 1.3% month-on-month (m/m) decline.

New York state saw a continued decline in manufacturing activity in April, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Drilling activity decreased in the US but rose in Canada in the week ended April 12, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes.

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices both rose this week.