Last week SMU asked those responding to our flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire about when they expected a break in the current flat rolled steel pricing cycle and for prices to begin heading lower. There was no consensus as 50 percent of those responding felt the change would occur prior to the 4th Quarter […]
SMU canvasses buyers and sellers of steel to see how they feel about their company’s ability to be successful in both the existing (Current) market conditions as well as what they perceive those conditions will be three to six months into the future (Future). All of our participants are involved in the flat rolled steel […]
Domestic mill lead times: the amount of time it takes to receive flat rolled steel on an order placed this week, continue to be extended and are averaging at least one week longer than one year ago according to those participating in this week’s SMU flat rolled market trends analysis. Earlier this week we began […]
Steel Market Update asks our flat rolled steel market trends analysis participants to comment on the status of negotiations between their company and their steel mill suppliers. We want to know how stringent are the mills being when it comes to collecting the announced or original quoted steel price and are they able to collect […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 18th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
Last week Steel Market Update reported our Steel Buyers Sentiment Index as being at record highs. Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are very optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful not only in the current market but three to six months out into the future as well. When looking at Sentiment from […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 17th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
According to our latest flat rolled steel market survey which was conducted last week, steel mill lead times have continued to move out on every single one of the flat rolled products. The extended mill lead times are one of the primary reasons behind the increases in flat rolled steel prices, pressure on deliveries, allocations […]
The graphic used in this article visually tells the story. Flat rolled steel prices have become much less negotiable according to those taking our flat rolled steel market trends survey this past week. Lead times are extended and steel mills are using the words “allocation” and “controlled order entry” to their advantage. The net result […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to feel very good about their company’s prospects both in the existing market as well as looking out three to six months into the future. Steel Market Update (SMU) is of the opinion buyer optimism is connected to rising steel prices around the world which improves the […]
Every month Steel Market Update plugs in the MSCI shipment and inventory data for flat rolled steel and we run it through our model to determine if service centers are carrying too much inventory and by how much. We then forecast where we believe shipments and inventories will go over the next few months. From […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 15th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
Written by: John Packard, Publisher of Steel Market Update. Packard has 31 years of steel sales experience in the steel industry in the service center, trading company and steel mill segments of the industry. The Truth About Selling Steel is series of articles dedicated to those interested or involved with the process of selling (with […]
Based on our analysis of the most recent flat rolled steel market trends survey conducted by Steel Market Update this week, we continue to find buyers and sellers of steel being very optimistic. The current market index improved to +70 which is the highest (most optimistic) number ever recorded by our Sentiment Index going back […]
Steel mill lead times on all four flat rolled products have become more extended, according to those who responded to our most recent flat rolled steel market analysis. As lead times extend, steel buyers have to place more orders in order to protect their inventories. The more orders placed, the better chance for the domestic […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel reported to Steel Market Update this past week that the domestic steel mills are less willing to negotiate steel prices. We believe this is due to strengthening order books, extending lead times, positive Sentiment and improving demand. In fact, we were learning throughout the day today that many […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 14th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered in this analysis is currently 34. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. Readers should […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 13th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
Flat rolled steel pricing momentum is clearly on the side of the domestic steel mills. You have a number of the integrated mills essentially out of the spot markets and lead times are extended. Even hot rolled lead times are moving out despite weakness in the energy markets. SMU Price Momentum Indicator continues to point […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States remained positive this week for the 12th consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our second flat rolled steel market trends analysis for the month of March. We commit four days to canvass buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel. Then we put the vast majority (but not all) of the results into a Power Point presentation which we share with our Premium […]
Steel Mill lead times are important keys to watch. As lead times extend buyers have to place more orders and spend more time balancing their inventories in order to satisfy their customers. Longer lead times also support domestic steel mill pricing and create opportunities for steel mills to raise steel prices (which is exactly what […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel report to Steel Market Update whether the domestic steel mills are willing to negotiate pricing on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels. The less willing the mills are to negotiate prices the stronger the market (and potentially the higher prices go from here). Hot rolled negotiations […]
Last month we forecast that February carbon flat rolled shipments would be down 5 percent year over year and that the steel receipts would be 10 percent lower than their 3 year average. We projected total shipments at 2,151,000 tons and the MSCI reported shipments of 2,154,700 tons. We projected inventories would end the month […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to smile when asked about their company’s ability to be successful both in the current market environment as well as looking out into the future three to six months. The result has taken the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index higher and we are approaching record levels in […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States was positive this week for the eleventh consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
Mill lead times, especially on cold rolled and coated products, continue to be a concern as buyers navigate/negotiate pricing and deliveries on future orders. The longer the lead time the more steel that is needed in the pipeline at both manufacturing companies and distributors. The longer lead times provide ammunition to the domestic steel mills […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Price Momentum Index (MoMo) for hot rolled steel in the United States was positive this week for the tenth consecutive week, following a 21 week negative streak. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is measured as a percentage and shows the relation of the current U.S. hot rolled coil price movements against the […]
Steel mill lead times on all four flat rolled products have become more extended according to those who responded to our most recent flat rolled steel market analysis. As lead times extend, steel buyers have to place more orders in order to protect their inventories. The more orders placed, the better chance for the domestic […]