One thing is certain in this crazy steel market, service centers are taking their spot prices lower and lower as each week passes. Manufacturing companies are almost unanimous in their view that flat rolled steel distributors are decreasing their spot offers. We saw 93 percent of the manufacturing companies responding to last week’s SMU flat […]
Steel price negotiations have been wide open for the past two months and there is no sign of that changing in Steel Market Update’s latest data. More than nine out of 10 steel buyers responding to SMU’s market trends questionnaire this week reported that the mills are still willing to negotiate on flat rolled and […]
The market is keeping a close eye on mill lead times, hoping for some sign they are extending and perhaps signaling a pickup in order activity at the mills. Steel Market Update’s latest numbers, which show little change in lead times, are sure to disappoint. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand […]
A higher percentage of manufacturing companies and flat rolled steel service centers are reporting distributors as continuing to lower spot pricing to their customers. We have now passed through the mythical “capitulation” level and we will explain what that means in a moment. First, we saw 79 percent of the manufacturing companies responding to our […]
Steel Market Update data supports the widespread view that steel demand is unusually sluggish for this time of year. Nine out of 10 steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this past week characterized demand as flat or declining. Only a small single-digit percentage see improving demand. About 35 percent of the […]
Industry sentiment has continued to erode this month as the attitudes of steel executives appear to be suffering from the relentless uncertainty over steel pricing, demand and Trump administration trade policies. The goal of the index is to measure how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful today (Current […]
It’s nearly unanimous that steel prices are in play. More than nine out of 10 flat rolled steel buyers responding to SMU’s market trends questionnaire this week reported that the mills are willing to negotiate price in order to secure the order. The vast majority even reported the mills willing to talk price on plate. […]
Lead times for spot orders of all types of steel products continued to shorten in the past two weeks with demand falling below the pace of steel production. The average lead time for hot rolled is now below three and a half weeks, cold rolled is nearing five weeks, galvanized is less than six weeks […]
Key Market Indicator trends deteriorated in May and were the worst since October 2016, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data we have reported in detail during the month. In it we summarize 36 data streams that critically describe the state of the steel […]
Industry sentiment has seen a gradual slide since registering +78 in January 2018 and the trend is continuing, if not accelerating. Declining steel prices and disappointing demand in some sectors appears to be weighing on the attitudes of many industry executives. Generally speaking, SMU’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index reflects an industry that is still fairly […]
Now that the U.S. borders are open to tariff-free steel from Canada and Mexico, and lower-tariff steel from Turkey, can the market expect a flood of imports in the coming weeks and months? And what will that mean for steel prices? Last week, the Trump administration removed the 25 percent tariff on steel imports from […]
Average lead times for spot orders of hot rolled, galvanized and plate steels continue to shorten as mill production, at more than 80 percent capacity, appears to be outpacing demand. Hot rolled lead times are now approaching three and a half weeks, cold rolled less than six weeks, and galvanized and Galvalume slightly above six […]
Steel Market Update data on negotiations and pricing corroborate the same trend. More than eight out of 10 flat rolled steel buyers responding to SMU’s market trends questionnaire this week reported that the mills are willing to talk price to win their business. Thus, it’s no surprise that steel prices continue to move lower. About […]
Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) data, SMU has taken the import tonnage of cold rolled sheet and broken it down into coil and leveled, then it breaks out four thickness ranges and identifies how much was full hard, annealed and high strength. Through March 2019, of the total cold rolled sheet and strip imports […]
There is no more debate, service centers are moving off inventories at deeper discounts to their end customers than they did just a few weeks ago. The lower spot prices to service center customers were captured during the Steel Market Update flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis conducted this past week. As you […]
More than 40 percent of respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this past week said they are confused by the current steel market and price direction. Judging by their comments, it’s unclear to many why steel prices are declining at a time when the economy is so strong, imports are down and the […]
Data in Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index continues to trend more pessimistic with Current Sentiment hitting its lowest reading in two and a half years. Industry executives appear less optimistic in light of declining steel prices, uncertain demand and contentious negotiations with U.S. trading partners. The goal of the index is to measure […]
With steel prices moving down or sideways and demand softening in some markets, it’s no surprise that most mills are willing to talk price to win business in the current environment. Eight out of 10 of the flat rolled steel buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week report that prices are in play […]
Average lead times for spot orders of steel have shortened in the past month, suggesting that the mills are not as booked as they would like to be at this time of year. Hot rolled lead times now average less than four weeks, cold rolled less than six weeks, and galvanized and Galvalume slightly above […]
Job creation in manufacturing has slowed dramatically in the last three months, but construction employment is still expanding rapidly. In April, 236,000 jobs were created in the private sector and government added 27,000. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. Most of the goods-producing […]
Twice per month Steel Market Update conducts an analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel markets and market trends. We are searching for what is moving the markets, and what buyers and sellers of steel should anticipate in the coming weeks and months. One of the key questions associated with our analysis: Are the […]
The official economic statistics out of China show a surge in industrial production in March and a steady growth in fixed asset investment. Once each quarter, Steel Market Update publishes the official statistics for Chinese GDP, industrial production, consumer price inflation and fixed asset investment. We don’t know the accuracy of these numbers but we […]
Data in Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index took a decidedly pessimistic turn this week. Current Sentiment hit its lowest reading since October 2016. The goal of the index is to measure how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful today (Current Index), as well as three to […]
Mills are willing to talk price on all types of steel products to get the orders, report the vast majority of buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week. Corroborating the trend, SMU data shows steel prices moving downward or sideways, raising questions about current steel demand. About 86 percent of respondents said the […]
Average lead times for spot orders of steel, including all types of products, have shortened slightly in the past two weeks. Hot rolled lead times now average around four weeks, cold rolled and Galvalume around six weeks, and galvanized down to nearly six and a half weeks. Lead times for plate are now less than […]
U.S. manufacturing lost jobs in March, but has had strong job growth in the last 12 months. In March, 182,000 jobs were created in the private sector and government added 14,000, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Table 1 breaks total employment down into service and goods-producing industries and then into private and government employees. […]
Flat rolled steel inventories at the service centers rose at the end of March, according to the data providers working with Steel Market Update. SMU has been collecting service center data for almost two years now. Six months back, with the help of the CRU team, we changed the way we were collecting and the […]
Steel Market Update conducted an analysis of flat rolled and plate steel market trends last week. One of the key trends we watch closely is the relationship between how service centers are handling spot prices to their customers and what support is being given to domestic steel mill price increases. With the two increases announced […]
SMU was speaking to a coated sheet steel buyer this afternoon about flat rolled steel prices. He made an interesting observation about how the markets have become quite complicated. When looking at galvanized, for example, there are different starting points for light gauge, medium gauge and heavy gauge steels. There are also regional differences (southern […]
Data in Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index were slightly more optimistic this week, though comments from respondents reflect concerns in the market about trade issues, steel demand and the economy. We also continue to see Current Sentiment as being less optimistic than at this time one year ago. However, our Future Sentiment Index […]