Stupp Corp. said it plans to lay off 45 workers at its Baton Rouge, La., pipe manufacturing plant in November. The layoffs will begin on Nov. 6, according to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice filed with the Louisiana Workforce Commission earlier in the month. The Baton Rouge-based pipe manufacturer said in the […]
Preliminary Census data shows that total foreign steel imports declined 10% in August, easing from July’s 18-month high down to 2.77 million tons. September import licenses are currently at 2.50 million tons as of Sept. 27, a 10% decline from August and down 19% compared to July. Total finished imports are preliminarily at 2.18 million […]
It’s beginning to look like hot rolled steel prices will fall short of the $2,000 per ton ($100 per cwt) mark that many believed would be the peak. Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday shows the average hot rolled price decreasing for the third time in as many weeks to $1,920 […]
At least two domestic pipe and tube mills have announced higher prices on the heels of higher hot-rolled coil costs, market participants said. Atlas Tube in a leading move said it was raising prices by at least $75 per ton ($3.75 per ton) for mechanical tubing, hollow structural sections (HSS) and piling products. The pipe-and-tube price […]
Domestic raw steel production crept up in the week ending Sept. 25, recovering from the slight dip the week prior and landing just under the pandemic-era high seen earlier in the month. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), production by U.S. mills was estimated at 1,880,000 net tons while the average utilization […]
By CRU Aluminum Advisor Greg Wittbecker Aluminum prices touched a 13-year high last week, flirting with $3,000 per metric ton on the LME. That throwback to 2008 is not a coincidence, corresponding to the last time that primary aluminum supply-demand balances were as tight as they are in 2021. In the period 2006 to first […]
By Stephen Williamson, CRU Research Manager, Aluminum Aluminum prices continue to flirt with $3,000 per metric ton on the LME. While off a bit, now at $2,866, recent upsets in the market make price volatility the norm in the near term. Energy curtailments in China exacerbate not only global aluminum supply but also silicon (Si) […]
By Stephen Williamson, CRU Research Manager, Aluminum As in last week’s report, aluminum prices continue to flirt with the $3,000 per metric ton mark on the LME, $2,908/t as of this writing. However, this apparently steady price range belies a torrent of market activity. The protracted energy curtailments in China continue to cast doubt on […]
Finished steel imports into the United States rose by nearly 27% in the first eight months of the year. Census Bureau data reported by the American Iron and Steel Institute showed a 25.5% increase in total steel imports to 20.56 million tons, including a 26.9% increase in finished steel imports to 14.21 million tons, for […]
SSAB Americas has followed competitor Nucor in raising prices for steel plate by at least $80-200 per ton ($4-10 per cwt). The price hike is effective immediately for all new spot orders, the Mobile, Ala.-based steelmaker said in letters to customers on Friday, Sept. 24 The increase of $80 per ton (Canadian $100 per ton) applies […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor CRU recently developed a bottom-up zinc demand model to improve our medium-term demand forecasts. The model calculates demand in key regions and countries for the six major first uses of refined zinc: galvanized sheet, general galvanizing, copper-zinc alloys, die casting alloys, zinc oxide […]
The average hot rolled steel price saw another small dip, based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week, but cold rolled and galvanized continued to rise, as the market reacts unevenly to changing conditions. On the supply side, sources report better availability of spot tons from the domestic mills at the same […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have continued to fall with the commodity now reaching $93.0/dmt, a $31.0/dmt fall in the past week. Chinese demand remains weak and seasonal improvements in construction activity have thus far not materialized in any significant improvement in market conditions for […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis decreased over the last 30 days. Through Sept. 17, iron ore prices stumbled 21% in one month’s time, busheling scrap prices declined 12%, pig iron prices fell 11%, and shredded scrap prices declined 3%. Coking coal prices jumped 49% in that […]
Domestic raw steel production edged down marginally in the week ending Sept. 18 after climbing to a new pandemic-era high the week prior. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), production by U.S. mills was estimated at 1,874,000 net tons while the average utilization rate was 84.9%. Mill utilization has fluctuated in recent weeks […]
U.S. domestic steel demand remains strong, but supplies have been catching up and are largely in balance. These dynamics are starting to show as steel prices have seen a slower rate of rise and may be near a peak. Lead times are also contracting, with hot rolled now below nine weeks. These changes are largely a […]
Sheet prices continue to wobble with hot-rolled coiled prices actually declining, albeit modestly, for the first time in more than a year. The concern: that the market is at a peak – and perhaps heading down the other side. Hot rolled coil prices have been flat in prior weeks, but they have not declined since […]
July apparent steel supply increased 312,000 tons over June to 9.70 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. This is now the highest supply level seen since January 2019, a 30-month record. July supply is up 2.73 million tons compared to the same month […]
Production by U.S. mills was 1,882,000 net tons while the average utilization rate was 85.3% in the week ending Sept. 11, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly domestic raw steel production rebounded after slipping for two straight weeks, eclipsing the 85% mark for the first time since Sept.13, 2008. Weekly output […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Market fundamentals in the North American sheet market continue to evolve and clearly suggest that supply tightness is easing. From a broad point of view, these fundamentals include rising supply, service center inventories that are balanced with outbound shipments, and demand growth that […]
By CRU Aluminum Advisor Greg Wittbecker Steel and aluminum are vigorous competitors, but share a common plight, supply chain woes. Just-in-time manufacturing, lean manufacturing, vendor-managed inventory…we all know the buzzwords that have shaped the way both the aluminum and steel supply chains have operated for several decades. Since the Global Financial Crisis, the primary aluminum market […]
By CRU Aluminum Advisor Greg Wittbecker China has been wrestling with inflationary tendencies in its aluminum market for some time: Spot Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) high aluminum is at $3,516 per ton; that compares to $2,139 a year ago and $1,849 five years ago. The Chinese State Reserve Board (SRB) is releasing part of its […]
U.S. steel exports declined 3% in July to 756,000 tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce data. Although down from the month prior, July levels remain relatively strong compared to recent months. Recall that June saw the second highest monthly export level in the last three years (778,000 tons), just behind the April 2021 high of 790,000 […]
Weekly domestic raw steel production slipped for the second straight week. Production by U.S. mills was 1,866,000 net tons while the average utilization rate was 84.5% in the week ending Sept. 4, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly output dipped by 0.4% compared to the week prior when production was 1,873,000 […]
Market momentum suggests that flat rolled steel prices are likely to continue moving up, at least in the short term, as hot rolled hit a new record high once again this week at an average of $1,955 per ton, up $20 over last week, according to SMU’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. […]
Final Census data shows that total foreign steel imports increased 5% from June to July, reaching 3.08 million tons. As stated in our preliminary import analysis, this is now the highest monthly import level of 2021, surpassing the previous month. The last time monthly import levels exceeded this rate was January 2020 when 3.16 million tons […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Richard Lu, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor In a recent Insight titled “Iron ore at $140 /dmt – what’s driving the fall?”, we explained that weak demand in China has caused a sharp iron ore price fall and we expect the downtrend to persist for the rest of the year. […]
Prices for four of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis decreased over the last 30 days. Through Sept. 1st, iron ore prices stumbled 18% in one month’s time, pig iron prices fell 11%, shredded scrap prices declined 4%, and zinc prices decreased 2%. Busheling scrap prices remained flat month over month, while aluminum prices rose […]
Flat-rolled steel prices are again mixed. Hot rolled is up $20 per ton, cold rolled is unchanged, and coated products are down $20-25 per ton. (Plate – following mill price hike announcements – is up a sharp $105 per ton.) The mixed signals are not a sure sign of the market inflecting. And Hurricane Ida […]
Weekly domestic raw steel production slipped last week after climbing the week prior. Output varied slightly throughout the month of August. Production by U.S. mills was 1,873,000 net tons while the average utilization rate was 84.9% in the week ending Aug. 28, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Weekly output dipped by […]