Category: SMU

This long weekend, we pay tribute to the sacrifices of the men and women of the US armed forces.

Domestic plate market participants named extended lead times, increased freight costs, escalating fuel surcharges, and spotty demand as their most recent challenges.  

Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to tariffs, imports, and evolving market events.

Galvanized steel buyers and distributors expect tightening supply and rising price pressure to last into summer.

We look at how SMU survey respondents are seeing the effects of Trump's tariffs and the Iran war on business.

Sheet prices continue to rise in a market that remains characterized by extremely limited spot availability, solid demand, long lead times, and the lowest sheet inventories since May 2021.

SMU spoke with several market players around the country regarding the ferrous scrap market in June, with many sources seeing next month as broadly sideways.

Trading-company sentiment in the May 15 SMU flat-rolled steel buyers survey shows a market split between anecdotal optimism and numerical decline.

The Commerce Department's International Trade Administration recently concluded several administrative reviews of the anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs) on various steel imports. The reviews resulted in the following duty adjustments.

Domestic raw steel production ticked up to the highest weekly output rate recorded since March 2020, according to recently published American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data.

Grupo Acerero SA de CV posted higher shipments and stronger profitability in the first quarter of 2026.

Apparent steel supply surged 11% from February to March, recovering from one of the lower rates recorded in recent years to one of the higher ones.

SMU released its latest steel market survey results on Friday. The main takeaway: the stronger for longer narrative is still very much in the house.

Unsurprisingly, the Trump-Xi Beijing summit ended without a major announcement on trade. Behind the celebratory mood and photo-ops are years of economic harm from China’s predatory trade practices that cannot be overcome in a single meeting.

Sources told SMU they’ve begun considering whether US imports of sheet might benefit the overall market.

Global shipping volatility is tightening its grip on steel supply chains. And the risks are not easing; in fact, they’re escalating, according to Anton Posner, CEO of Mercury Resources.

The spread between domestic hot-rolled coil and prime scrap prices continued to widen in May, a trend that began in September.

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

SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices remained in strongly optimistic territory this week, based on responses from steel executives in our latest market survey.

US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply fell for a fourth straight month in April, with shipping days of supply slipping to 45.7 on an adjusted basis, according to SMU data.

Inventories are getting dangerously low. (Sheet stocks are at their lowest point since May 2021!) Lead times remain extended. And mills have few spot tons available. (The ‘a’ word – “allocation” – is being kicked around.)

SMU Survey: Sheet and plate lead times remain extended, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.

Buyers continue to report mills are holding a firm grip on sheet and plate prices.

Although price levels have been quite favorable recently in the Brazilian pig iron market, there does not seem to be enough production to keep the pipeline intact.

US scrap prices were mostly flat in May, with some upside on prime scrap, sources told SMU.

US steel exports improved in March but remain historically low, having trended lower for over a year now.  

What might be in store for the ferrous scrap market this summer?

All five of SMU’s sheet and plate price indices ticked higher this week, rising further to new multi-year highs. Prices increased between $5-25 per short ton (st) from last week and are $30-65/st higher than they were one month ago.

Total heating and cooling equipment shipments jumped 24% from February to March according to recently released AHRI figures.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has revised their metallic coating extras higher for galvanized, Galvalume, Galfan, and aluminized type 1 products.