Category: SMU Data and Models

SMU senior analyst David Schollert provides an overview of steel market indicators for the month of July.

Steel Market Update’s Demand Index has now been contracting territory for the better part of the past 3-plus months, according to the latest survey data.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand levels, import offers, and inventory. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact david@steelmarketupdate.com to be included in […]

he latest SMU Market Survey results are now available on our website to all Premium members.

SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices are at parity, with current level and future ticking up, according to our most recent survey data. Every other week we poll steel buyers about sentiment. The Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices measure how steel buyers feel about their company’s chances of success in the current market, as well as […]

Movements in lead times were mixed this week, with those for hot rolled and Galvalume falling back marginally, and those for cold rolled, galvanized, and plate extending slightly. We’re still waiting for a clear pattern to emerge with lead times, as they seem to have been bouncing around since June and generally trending down since […]

Steel buyers report that mills are willing to negotiate lower spot prices for the sheet products SMU surveys. It’s a different story in plate, where buyers find mills less willing to negotiate lower, according to SMU’s most recent survey data.  The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to talk price on plate stood at 29% this […]

Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, contact Lindsey Fox at lindsey@steelmarketupdate.com. Flat Rolled = 52.3 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 58.1 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel supply edged up slightly in […]

US service center flat-rolled steel supply edged up slightly in June as daily shipments dropped to the lowest rate this year.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand levels, import offers, and inventory. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact david@steelmarketupdate.com to be included in […]

SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices swapped directions again this week, with current increasing and future sentiment easing, according to our most recent survey data. Every other week we poll steel buyers about sentiment. The Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices measure how steel buyers feel about their company’s chances of success in the current market, as well as […]

Lead times were broadly stable this week, with sheet products rising modestly and plate unchanged from SMU’s market check two weeks ago. More meaningful movements in lead times should be seen in the coming weeks as buyers return to the market after the Fourth of July holiday. Should the mills’ recent sheet price hikes take […]

The overall mill negotiation rate dropped this week following the July 4th holiday, though plate bucked the trend, increasing by four percentage points, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to talk price on plate stood at 63% this week, up from 59% two weeks ago, while […]

Worthington Industries Inc. announced strong earnings for its fiscal 2023 fourth quarter, boosted by an exceptional performance from its steel processing business. The Columbus, Ohio-based manufacturing and steel processing company reported net earnings of $129.9 million for fiscal Q4 ended May 31, a 62% increase from $80.3 million in the same period one year prior.   […]

A rare state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India culminated in a joint statement by President Biden and the prime minister last Thursday. This was a blockbuster statement, covering 58 paragraphs and resolving or narrowing differences on a host of issues. Some disputes had been festering for years. Despite pre-meeting statements advising that […]

The US and India have agreed to end six outstanding disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO), some directly involving steel, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said Thursday. Also, USTR Tai said that India has agreed to remove retaliatory tariffs, which it had imposed as a response to the US Section 232 national security measures […]

Offshore hot-rolled coil (HRC) remains at a discount to domestic product, though the US premium is at its lowest mark in nearly four months, according to SMU’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. Prices for hot band stateside have eroded sharply over the past few weeks, down $115 per net ton so far in June, […]

Positive structural trends in the North American market are supporting strong earnings results for Commercial Metals Co. The Irving, Texas-based longs producer and metals recycler reported lower fiscal third-quarter sales and earnings compared to levels seen in the year-ago quarter during the 2022 earnings boom, but its results remain strong, said CEO Barbara Smith. “CMC […]

Flat Rolled = 51.4 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 55.4 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel inventories were nearly flat month on month in May with shipments still strong. Service centers carried 51.4 shipping days of supply at the end of May, according to adjusted SMU data. This was […]

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand levels, and import offers. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact david@steelmarketupdate.com to be included in our […]

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index rose above the Future Buyers Sentiment Index during the week ending June 9 as future sentiment slumped, according to our most recent survey data. Every other week we poll steel buyers about sentiment. The Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices measure how steel buyers feel about their company’s chances of success in the current market, as […]

 Steel Market Update’s latest survey shows movements in lead times were varied across products this week, with hot rolled falling below the 5-week mark for the first time since early February.  The average lead times for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet all fell back slightly from our market check two weeks ago, while those for […]

The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to negotiate on price stayed relatively flat this week, up one percentage point from two weeks ago, according to SMU’s most recent survey data.  Plate bucked the general trend, being the only product surveyed by SMU to fall below 50% of respondents saying steel mills were […]

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! […]

Steel buyers across all products surveyed by SMU this week are finding mills more willing to negotiate lower spot pricing vs. two weeks ago. Galvanized saw the percentage of buyers saying mills were willing to talk price climb to 100% this week, up from 90% at the previous market check, while cold rolled rose 28 percentage […]

Steel mill lead times have encountered some of the biggest two-week declines we’ve seen for some time, to the lowest levels we’ve seen since mid-March, according to SMU’s latest steel market survey data.  Hot rolled in particular saw the steepest two-week decline since late January 2022, when lead times dropped by 0.86 weeks. This week, […]

Both SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices fell this week compared to two weeks ago, with Current tumbling 16 points to drop below Future Sentiment, according to our most recent survey data. The Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices measure how steel buyers feel about their company’s chances of success in the current market, as well as three-to-six […]

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! […]

Flat Rolled = 51.1 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 46.1 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel inventories in April increased in terms of months of supply, according to SMU data. At the end of April, service centers had 2.69 months of flat-rolled steel on hand on an adjusted basis, […]

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index dropped four points this week compared with two weeks ago, while the Future Buyers Sentiment Index remained unchanged, according to our most recent survey data. The Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices measure how steel buyers feel about their company’s chances to succeed in the current market, as well as three to six months down […]