Category: Sheet

SMU released its latest steel market survey results on Friday. The main takeaway: the stronger for longer narrative is still very much in the house.

Sources told SMU they’ve begun considering whether US imports of sheet might benefit the overall market.

The spread between domestic hot-rolled coil and prime scrap prices continued to widen in April, a trend that began in September.

India-based JSW Steel’s combined US operations swung to a slight profit in its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026.

This item was first published by CRU. To learn about CRU’s global commodities research and analysis services, visit www.crugroup.com. The uptrend in sheet prices is expected to continue in the coming month in most markets amid elevated energy and freight costs stemming from the Middle East conflict. Europe will buck the trend as demand in the […]

US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply fell for a fourth straight month in April, with shipping days of supply slipping to 45.7 on an adjusted basis, according to SMU data.

Inventories are getting dangerously low. (Sheet stocks are at their lowest point since May 2021!) Lead times remain extended. And mills have few spot tons available. (The ‘a’ word – “allocation” – is being kicked around.)

SMU Survey: Sheet and plate lead times remain extended, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

Buyers continue to report mills are holding a firm grip on sheet and plate prices.

U.S. Steel delivered a mixed first quarter. Segment performances diverged sharply as winter weather, outage activity, and major capital projects weighed on results.

US steel exports improved in March but remain historically low, having trended lower for over a year now.  

All five of SMU’s sheet and plate price indices ticked higher this week, rising further to new multi-year highs. Prices increased between $5-25 per short ton (st) from last week and are $30-65/st higher than they were one month ago.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has revised their metallic coating extras higher for galvanized, Galvalume, Galfan, and aluminized type 1 products.

On Monday, Nucor hiked its spot HR price by $10/ton.

Sheet market participants found modest spot price increases this past week, but conceded that overall market conditions remained stable.  

Following the historical lows seen in recent months, steel import volumes marginally increased in March and April.

The current rally in sheet prices has lasted more than seven months, something without recent precedent. Unless your definition of recent includes the snapback in demand following the pandemic.

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.

Steel traders continue to report strong interest from North American buyers, with their import orders ticking higher, according to our latest survey results. Many manufacturers and service centers, however, report that they have not yet taken the bait.

Sheet and plate prices remained on an upward trend as industry sources increasingly asked whether improved demand might be driving the market as much as limited supply.

The agency found sufficient evidence to support the petitioners' allegations of dumping and subsidization and thus took up the case.

SMU’s Mill Order Index (MOI) recovered in March, gaining some momentum after a marginal decline in February.

Domestic raw steel production increased to a new multi-year high last week, per AISI figures.

Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,070 per short ton (st), a $5/st increase from last week.

I haven’t done a deep dive into our sentiment data for a little while. And it’s timely to do so now. Why? Because we’re seeing what I’ll call the inverted yield curve of steel buyers’ sentiment.

Domestic sheet market participants found business conditions remarkably consistent this week. 

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product tightened this week. The dynamic continues even as stateside and import prices diverged a bit vs. the prior week.

Steel mill lead times continue to hold at or near multi-year highs for both sheet and plate products, territory they have been in two months.

This week we saw low negotiation rates across all products, though coated products are the most negotiable and plate products are the least.

Anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of non-grain-oriented electrical steel (NGO or NOES) will stay on the books for another five years.