Written by: Sandy Williams Billowing flames, sparks careening upward like thousands of fireflies, the brilliant blue-white glow of the arc, and heat—intense heat. It is hard to adequately describe the power emanating from the electric arc furnace as one stares at it enthralled. Our Steel 101 class felt that power up close and it was […]
Written by: Brett Linton The American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) reported their final raw steel production numbers for the month of January 2013. This estimation is different than the weekly raw steel production as it is based on 75 percent of the domestic mills reporting vs. 50 percent for the weekly estimates. The difference […]
Early indications our of SMU industry sources is for Midwest scrap prices to be $30-$45 per ton higher than what we found at the beginning of February. Negotiations are continuing with a number of mills but we have heard of a few deals being done on prime grades at +$40 per gross ton. We heard […]
Large steel buyers with whom Steel Market Update had direct contact with over the past few working days paint a picture of the domestic mills still uncomfortable leading on pricing. Although that may be changing as word starts to spread on the newest scrap pricing. We saw a widening of the range on hot rolled […]
“No demand- it is like raising ticket prices to see a last place team.” – Service Center Domestic mill price increases have a way of touching the nerve of the steel community. Whenever there is a price increase announcement and Steel Market Update (SMU) conducts our next steel market survey – we tend to gather […]
On Monday Steel Market Update will begin our next steel market survey. This will be the first for the month of March. Invitations should go out at approximately 8 AM ET. This will be an interesting week as we watch scrap prices, mill lead times and for evidence that the domestic mills will be serious […]
Originally published by IHS Global Insight on March 1, 2013 Congress has failed to secure a deal to prevent the “sequester” – USD1.2 billion of spending cuts divided equally between security and non-security spending. The impact of the cuts will be cumulative rather than immediate, which raises the prospect of congress agreeing to forestall them […]
According to Baker Hughes data from March 1st, 2013, the U.S rig count for this week is 1,757 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. This number represents a decrease of 4 rigs from last week. Compared to last year the 1,757 count is a decrease of 232 rigs. Canadian rigs decreased by […]
Written by: Sandy Williams The JP Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.8 from 51.4 in January indicating a slowing in manufacturing. Global manufacturing output rose for the fourth month in a row with the U.S. leading the upward momentum. India, Mexico and Brazil also saw acceleration in production. China showed slowing in February while […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Activity in the manufacturing sector continued to improve in February according the latest Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing Report on Business. The February PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) registered at 54.2, indicating growth in the manufacturing sector for the third consecutive month since its drop below the neutral point to 49.9 in […]
Written by: Sandy Williams “Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ‘em ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”—Theodore Roosevelt. When I was asked to write for SMU I did exactly what Teddy suggested and every day since I’ve been learning how. With a background […]
This week, the SMU Fair Value HRC (hot rolled coil) Model has spot HRC pricing below Fair Value for the third consecutive week after rising above the Fair Value price in the week of February 8th. This is due to the SMU average spot HRC index decreasing $10 per ton last week to $600 per […]
Falls Church, VA, March 1, 2013 – Steel imports increased 4.6 percent in January 2013 compared to December 2012 according to preliminary government data. “Import levels improved in January in a normal seasonal rebound from end of the year declines as many consumers and distributors delay purchases to January due to inventory tax costs at […]
Written by: Peter Wright The Commerce Department releases construction expenditure data on the first working day of each month, referred to as “Construction put in place” or CPIP. This data has to be sub divided because sectors do not move synchronously. They are affected by supply / demand fundamentals and sources of financing. CPIP is […]
The indices watched by Steel Market Update (SMU) tumbled this past week as benchmark hot rolled averages were at, or below $600 per ton in three of the five indexes. We saw many indices dropping by double digits prior to the U.S. Steel pricing announcement. It is normal for prices to move lower the week […]
Last week the domestic steel mills made their statement by raising prices on flat rolled steel. Led by U.S. Steel most mills followed their lead and pushed prices by $50 per ton. Two mills – Severstal and ArcelorMittal – put base prices to their announcements with hot rolled being referenced as starting at a “minimum” […]
We had an excellent group at our workshop in Columbus, Mississippi and I want to thank the entire management, customer service, sales and operations staff at the Severstal Columbus facility that put on an exceptional tour of their mill for our group. I also want to thank Severstal NA in Dearborn for working with Steel […]
Written by: Sophia Fain Pending home sales remain in healthy territory after its 4.5 percent rise in January. Pending home sales have continually been above year-ago levels for the past 21 months, according to the National Association of Realtors. January’s sales are 9.6 percent above year-ago levels and the highest reading since April 2010 when […]
The Chicago Purchasing Managers reported the Chicago Business Barometer rose again, up 1.2 points to 56.8, its highest level since last March. There was improvement in New Orders, Order Backlogs, and Supplier Deliveries while Production and Employment expanded at a slower pace. New orders reported its third consecutive monthly gain and 11-month high while order […]
Written by: Sandy Williams New orders of manufactured durable goods decreased 5.2 percent to $217.0 billion in January according to Department of Commerce data. The downturn in January followed four consecutive months of increase including a 3.7 percent rise in December. Transportation equipment declined three of the last four months, dropping 19.8 percent from December […]
Utilizing a trailing average hot rolled coil (HRC) price, the SMU Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S. remained below zero percent this week for the seventh week after eight consecutive weeks of positive momentum readings. MoMo is based upon the current hot rolled coil price weighed against the previous 12 week […]
Written by: Andre Marshall, Crunchrisk LLC So far on the SP we have made it as high as 1532 on Feb 19th only to have retrace back to 1490 area before rebounding the last two days to 1515-1520 area. The market is becoming a bit more volatile. Poor fundamentals and money chasing returns will provide for […]
Written by: Peter Wright Key Market Indicators This chart is a work in progress and is designed to give a snapshot of the steel market on a specific date, which in this case is February 28th 2013. The chart is organized vertically to describe the primary indicators of the general economy, of proprietary Steel Market […]
The following is what we have provided in the past for our end of the month data. We have decided we will continue to provide this data to our regular SMU members as we have in the past.
Written by: John Packard I have been involved in the flat rolled steel industry since 1977. I cannot recall another time during those 36 years in the business when the domestic steel mills have announced two significant price increases within six weeks of one another – with the target minimum base price being exactly the […]
Steel buyers are scratching their heads while steel mills begin to line up announcing identical $50 per ton price increases on all flat rolled products. AK Steel was the first to follow U.S. Steel when they put out a press release advising their customers of their intention to raise spot prices by a minimum of […]
am in Starkville and Columbus, Mississippi as we conduct our next Steel 101 workshop beginning on Wednesday morning. We have a full workshop and I am looking forward to a great group. I am also looking forward to touring the Severstal Columbus steel mill. The most modern flat rolled mini-mill (EAF) in the United States. […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Home prices showed strong gains at the end of 2012 according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. The national composite increased 7.3 percent in 2012 after surging in the second and third quarter and dipping slightly in the fourth period. The yearly indices for the 10- and 20-City Composites posted annual […]
The American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) reported their estimated raw steel production data for the week ending February 23, 2013. According to AISI estimates the U.S. steel industry produced 1,843,000 net tons of raw steel last week. This represents an increase of 1.6 percent compared to the week earlier but is 8.2 percent lower […]
Written by: Sandy Williams Sims Metal Management announced that Chief Executive Officer Daniel Dienst will retire at the end of June. Board Chairman Geoff Brunsdon said, “The Board would like to acknowledge the enormous contributions Mr. Dienst has made to the Company during the nine years he has been Chief Executive Officer, including; the integration […]