The benchmark price for hot rolled steel reached a new record high of $1,080 per ton this week, according to Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market, surpassing the previous high of $1,070 per ton recorded by SMU in 2008. Prices for flat rolled and plate steel products jumped by another $40-80 per ton […]
November steel import figures were finalized at 1.37 million net tons, down 9 percent from one month prior, but up 9 percent over September’s 11-year low of 1.26 million tons. December import licenses are now at 2.10 million tons, the highest monthly level seen since July. January import licenses are currently at 1.03 million tons, […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,709,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 9, up 3.6 percent from the week before when the total was 1,650,000 net tons. The mill utilization rate was 75.4 percent, up from 74.6 percent the week prior; however, down by 10.3 percent compared to the same week […]
U.S. steel lobbying groups and the United Steelworkers union want the administration of President-elect Joseph Biden to keep Section 232 tariffs and quotas in place. The steel groups and the union think the protections are necessary because of global steel overcapacity and because of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a recent […]
U.S. raw steel production inched up 1.3 percent in November to 6,947,000 net tons, as reported by the American Iron and Steel Institute. This was the highest monthly production figure seen since March 2020 when 7,710,000 tons were produced in a single month. AISI’s monthly raw steel production estimates are different than the weekly estimates […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products. As of October 2020, imports’ share of total sheet products was 11.8 percent, down from 16.6 percent in May and from a recent high of 22.9 percent in 2015. The import share of HRC has been below 10 percent since January 2019, […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices continued to rise over the past week. Due to offloading constraints at Chinese ports, iron ore port inventories declined, contributing to the recent price hike. On Tuesday, Jan. 12, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $172.0 /dmt, $5.0 […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market have not only continued to rise, but the m/m gains have come so fast that our second Wednesday price assessment completely skipped the $900 /s.ton level. Our Jan. 12 price assessment for HR coil is $1,044 […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 27.1% m/m in January to 349.9 after metallics prices rose notably in every market we cover. As this is the second month of large price increases, many markets are now at, or nearly at, record highs. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have held steady in the past week as restocking activities in China have continued and iron ore inventories at mills have been built up. At the same time, further disruptions in the supply chain have renewed supply fears in the […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service U.S. steel service center inventories continue to remain low in terms of material in stock, as many buyers reported that they cannot secure all the sheet steel they require. Steel Market Update, which is owned by CRU, reported service centers carried 51.3 shipping […]
By CRU Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor January 2021 After a turbulent start to 2021 for U.S. politics, President Biden begins his term with the unenviable task of bringing the Covid-19 outbreak under control and supporting the nascent U.S. economic recovery. He plans to start with a $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan and […]
The Canada Border Services Agency has hit heavy plate from Germany and Taiwan with dumping margins as high as 80.6%. CBSA slapped German steelmaker AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke with a dumping margin of 6.3% on its exports of heavy plate to Canada. All other German exporters face a dumping margin of 68.6%, according to a […]
Boomerang Tube has laid off 150 people at its mill in Liberty, Texas, because of a “rapid spike” in steel prices as well as in COVID-19 infections, according to documents filed with state labor officials. The layoffs were effective on Dec. 23, 2020, and affected approximately 50 salaried and 135 hourly employees, according to Worker Adjustment […]
Nucor Tubular Products notified customers Wednesday that it will increase pricing on all new orders for HSS, pipe, mechanical and piling products by $100 per ton as a result of the strong demand and rising costs of raw materials and transportation. All orders booked prior to this announcement will be price protected for shipments through […]
Nucor Tubular Products notified customers on Wednesday, Jan. 20, that it will increase pricing on all new orders for HSS, pipe, mechanical and piling products by another $150 per ton as a result of the strong demand and rising costs of raw materials and transportation. All orders booked prior to this announcement will be price […]
Evraz North America (NA) has followed Nucor in increasing plate prices by at least $140 per ton ($7/cwt). The steelmaker said that the increase was effective immediately and that it applied equally to all carbon, high-strength low-alloy, hot-rolled coil, normalized, and quenched-and-tempered products, according to a letter to customers Jan. 6. “We reserve the right […]
Flat rolled steel prices have started the new year strong, jumping by another $25-55 per ton and taking the benchmark hot rolled price above $1,000, within sight of the record high of $1,070 per ton seen in 2008. With steel still in tight supply and ferrous scrap prices likely to increase again in January, Steel […]
Nucor and SSAB Americas have raised plate prices sharply higher to ring in the New Year. Effective immediately, Nucor’s new ex-works base price for cut-to-length grade A36 plate is $940 per ton ($47/cwt), up $140 per ton from $800 per ton on Dec. 14, according to letters to customers dated Tuesday, Jan. 5. The new […]
Brazil’s annual Section 232 slab quota has reset, a move that is likely to at least partially relieve a supply squeeze that has sent U.S. sheet prices to their highest point in more than 12 years. Brazil’s Section 232 slab quota for 2021 is approximately 3.86 million tons, according to information from U.S. Customs and […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have risen at the start of 2021 on continued strong appetite in China, while we have seen new short-term disruptions in the supply chain. On Tuesday, Jan. 5, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $167 /dmt, up by […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,650,000 net tons in the week ending Jan. 2, up 3.1 percent from the week before, which saw some slowing due to the holiday. The average mill utilization rate rose to 74.6 percent, up from 72.3 percent the week prior. Production in the last week of 2020 […]
Recently we were asked how we can produce our flat rolled and plate price indices when there are limited transactions either due to high prices or a holiday period like we are in now. In both scenarios there continue to be transactions (although few and far between), but we are careful not to overheat or […]
Updated preliminary data now shows November steel imports at 1.37 million net tons, down 9 percent from October levels, but up 9 percent over September. Recall that total steel imports in September had reached an 11-year low of 1.26 million tons. December import licenses are currently at the 1.44 million ton level, but will continue […]
Among steelmaking raw materials, the prices of iron ore, pig iron, scrap, zinc and aluminum continue to see large gains in December compared to months prior, up as much as 65 percent year over year. Iron ore, pig iron and scrap prices have seen significant increases compared to the late summer months. Coking coal prices […]
Steel Market Update has heard reports of buyers paying well over $1,000 a ton to secure much-needed hot roll, but the average from respondents to SMU’s poll this week puts the HR price at around $985 per ton (among those who have managed to find available steel). With demand persisting despite year-end seasonality and mill […]
On Monday, Dec. 21, Nucor notified customers of an upward revision to their galvanized steel coating extras, effective Feb. 6, 2021. Nucor is the third mill to revise their galvanized coating extras recently, following NLMK and CSI two weeks ago. SMU has done an analysis on the old and new extras, provided below. Nucor extras […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,619,00 net tons in the week ending Dec. 19, up from 1,567,000 net tons week on week. The operating rate was 73.2 percent, up 3.3 percent from 70.9 percent the week prior. The increase is likely a reflection of mills adding capacity, including U.S. Steel’s restart of […]
Weekly raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,600,000 net tons in the week ending Dec. 26, down 1.2 percent from the prior week, most likely due to the holiday lull. The mill utilization rate was 72.3 percent, down from 73.2 percent the week before and 78.5 percent in the same week last year. Adjusted […]
ArcelorMittal USA notified customers on Wednesday that it is increasing its base pricing for plate to a minimum of $900 per ton “in order to capture escalating costs and to restore the market value for steel plate products.” Now owned by Cleveland-Cliffs, ArcelorMittal USA no longer quotes delivered prices but rather the price ex works […]