Category: SMU

Heating and cooling equipment shipments recovered in February, surging 17% from January, according to the latest data released by AHRI.

Raw steel production increased for the fourth-consecutive week last week to a new multi-year high, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

SMU’s March ferrous scrap market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,045 per short ton (st), a $5/st bump from last week.

Remember the “Got Milk?” advertising campaign of the 1990s. Maybe we should start a “Got Steel?” campaign. Or maybe “Got Spot Tons?” would be more accurate, if less catchy.

No doubt, events will scramble the status quo. Meanwhile, the global systems that have prevented major wars for 80 years are sagging.

Steel imports remain near some of the lowest volumes recorded in over five years.

A coalition of US wire rod producers has filed a petition seeking countervailing duties on carbon and alloy steel wire rod from Algeria.

US scrap prices came in flat on busheling in April, while shredded and HMS both traded down, sources told SMU.

U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions with the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission on Thursday.

The pig iron market in Brazil continues to rise, despite US scrap prices trading sideways to down for April.

The world definitely seems like a more dangerous place these days. And, of course, when national security is invoked, the steel industry always plays a key role.

The trade case investigating large-diameter graphite electrodes is progressing after an International Trade Commission (ITC) vote.

The US scrap market has largely settled at prices most predicted in late March. The prevailing view then: shredded and other obsolete grades, like HMS, would drop $10-20 per gross ton (gt) despite higher transportation costs. And prime grades, like #1 busheling and bundles, would trade sideways thanks to better demand and static supply. This is essentially what has happened.

The US Court of International Trade (CIT) has upheld the Commerce Department’s decision to apply adverse facts available to Nippon Steel in the 2018-2019 administrative review of hot-rolled steel from Japan.

SMU survey respondents sound off on a host of issues affecting the steel industry.

More people expect hot-rolled (HR) coil prices to continue to climb. And most respondents to our last survey predict that prices will hit or even breach the $1,100 per short ton (st) threshold.

The president’s April 2 proclamation restructures how derivative products are classified, valued, and tariffed – a shift that industry groups say will close loopholes but could raise costs for certain downstream imports.

The petitions allege that foreign producers are selling seamless and welded OCTG at unfairly low prices and, in Austria’s case, benefitting from countervailable subsidies.

A Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) official said iron ore shipments would be delayed by a few weeks on the Great Lakes because of winter weather and a lack of icebreakers. 

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices have both inched up, according to our most recent survey data.

If I had to sum it up, I’d say “pain at the pump” is back. AAA says gasoline now averages more than $4 per gallon nationally ($4.08 to be precise) for the first time in for years. Meanwhile, diesel prices average $5.40 per gallon, according to the US Energy Information Administration. That’s up $1.81 per gallon from a year ago.

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product tightened this week.

Steel mill production times for sheet and plate products remain at or near multi-year highs, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

Most steel buyers report that mills are not willing to negotiate on new order spot prices, according to our latest market survey. Mill negotiability is now down to one of the lowest rates measured in over a year.

The Commerce Department has launched another duty circumvention inquiry targeting coated steel imports at the request of two US mills.

What impact could the war in Iran have on the steel raw materials supply chain and prices?

Sheet and plate prices were flat or modestly higher this week, continuing a trend we’ve seen since the beginning of Q4. The big question: How much longer can the trend hold?

Winter is over now and the scrap landscape is looking a bit less challenging.