Category: Sheet

The majority of steel buyers responding to our market survey this week report that mills are holding a firm grip on prices

Steel Dynamics Inc.'s (SDI's) executives said they are working with the current administration towards keeping a robust trade policy that favors US products, and that scrap supply in the US remains "ample."

Sheet prices continued to grind higher this week on factors familiar to most steel market participants: extremely limited spot availability, long lead times, low inventories, and firm demand.

The galvanized steel market isn't surging anymore; it's grinding.

Steel Dynamics Inc. posted sharply higher profits on record quarterly shipments and predicted the good times might continue to roll into 2027.

Total US raw steel mill output declined last week to the lowest rate seen since April, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures

Apparent steel supply jumped 8% from April to May to a near four-year high, according to recent Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures.

Nucor said its consumer spot price for hot-rolled coil will be $1,135 per short ton for the week of July 20.

Steel exports eased 1% in May and remain significantly lower than trade of previous years.

Some hot-rolled coil market participants said they're optimistic that the market will remain strong throughout the rest of the year. 

SMU’s average price for domestic HR remained flat, holding firm for the past three weeks. In offshore markets last week, prices mainly moved higher.

Barry Zekelman showed up to last Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat as his usual self: energized, blunt, and unapologetically bullish on the US steel industry.

Monthly steel imports rose back above 2 million short tons (st) in May and June, further recovering from the historic lows seen late last year, according to recent Commerce data.

Some domestic plate market sources expect spot price rises through the end of the year due to prolonged supply constraints.

US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply was down marginally in June, and lower for a sixth straight month. Shipping days of supply slipped to 44.5, according to SMU data.

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.

Hot-rolled and cold-rolled prices held steady again this week while prices for coated products and plate continued to tick upward.

SMU’s July 10 Flat-Rolled Steel Survey results paint a picture of a steel market being squeezed from every direction. Tariffs are holding prices up and giving mills a clear advantage, while manufacturers and traders say the policy is pushing their costs higher.

Domestic raw steel output eased to an 11-week low last week, according to recently released American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures

Nucor said its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil will be $1,135 per short ton (st) for the week of July 13, up $5/st from last week.

A worker died on Saturday morning at U.S. Steel’s Granite City Works near St. Louis, the company and the United Steelworkers (USW) union said.

Some domestic hot-rolled coil market participants say they expect prices for hot-rolled coils to remain stable through the end of 2026.  The market participants predicted that mills would hold spot prices and incrementally tighten lead times. Continuing, that they’ll find imported product arrivals, experience seasonal demand dips and all conditions will culminate in stable prices throughout the summer.   Asked […]

On the heels of SSAB’s price hike, further domestic mill increases to spot market plate seem inevitable to some participants but unlikely to others. 

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices were once again strongly optimistic this week, based on responses collected from steel executives in our latest market survey.

Cold-rolled (CR) coil prices were unchanged in the US this week, while offshore prices varied, though mostly trended up.

On July 1, CRU launched a US Galvalume coil benchmark price to serve this growing market.

Read the latest CRU Outlook on global sheet prices and the market for the coming months.

If a trend of flat lead times holds, it would represent a change. And we’ve also seen a few of the other indicators we track slip from historic highs – so the potential shift is worth paying attention to.

Steel mill lead times for flat-rolled steel this week remained extended at historical highs. Plate production times crept out further, while hot-rolled and cold-rolled (HR/CR) coil saw minor contractions.

The majority of steel buyers we polled this week reported that mills are holding firm on new order spot prices.