Following on a similar move by the plate mills earlier in the week, flat rolled mills announced price changes Wednesday and Thursday ranging from $40 to $60 per ton. Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group notified customers today, Aug. 27, that it has increased base prices on new orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel […]
California Steel Industries notified customers on Wednesday that it will be raising the extra charge for galvanized coatings due to an increase in the market price of zinc. CSI advised customers: “Due to changing zinc costs, our Galvanized Coating Extras have been revised. These changes will be effective beginning with orders placed for October shipment […]
Global steel production continued to decline in July. The World Steel Association reports crude production fell 2.5 percent year-over-year to 152.7 million metric tons based on reporting and estimates by 64 countries. The COVID-19 crisis and its disruption to economic activity was blamed for the fifth month of consecutive decline. Robust demand boosted China crude […]
Prices for flat rolled steel products moved up by as much as $20 per ton in the past week, while plate increased by $10, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. SMU’s Price Momentum is higher on sheet products, but Neutral on plate products, as the plate mills’ price […]
Many steel buyers have been anticipating a price increase, and the plate mills were the first to make a move. ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor and SSAB all announced changes to their plate prices, but not in the typical lock-step fashion. Nucor informed customers on Friday that it was setting a minimum base price of $28/cwt ($560 […]
For the 11th week in a row, domestic steelmakers continued to dial up their production–a sign of improving steel demand. Raw steel output by U.S. mills totaled 1,412,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 22, with the mills hitting an average utilization rate of 63.0 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. That’s a […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. has revised their galvanized coating extras due to the recent increase in zinc prices. SMU has done an analysis on the old and new extras, provided below. SDI extras increased an average of 20.3 percent. Zinc prices declined significantly during the first quarter of the year, dropping from January’s high of $1.1186 […]
Galvalume supplies are shaping up to be tight in the fourth quarter, but fears of a shortage may be overstated, sources tell Steel Market Update. Despite a recent press report to the contrary, Galvalume is one of the strongest steel sectors right now. “There is no shortage at the right price,” said one mill executive. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have held steady in the past week as import restrictions on Australian ore have disrupted the supply chain and reduced the availability of Australian fines. As a result, port inventories of fines products remain at the lowest level in years. […]
U.S apparent steel supply inched upwards in June to 6.93 million net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. While up over the previous month, April and May were the two lowest supply levels in the last 10 years at 6.54 million tons and 6.61 million tons, respectively. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices continued their upward trajectory and traded at $123.0 /dmt on Tuesday, Aug. 18, a $3.0 /dmt increase w/w. Chinese demand remains strong and the challenges of delivering ore from vessels to steelmakers remain in place. Chinese domestic steel prices have […]
Hannibal Industries, the long-time California-based manufacturer of structural and mechanical tubing, has decided to exit the tubing products market to concentrate on its racking and material handling business. “Hannibal has made the decision to direct all of our tubular product manufacturing capacity, our capital and our human energy into our material handling products and services. […]
U.S. steel exports in June increased 20 percent from the prior month’s 24-year low. Now standing at 423,000 tons, June exports are 29 percent lower than levels one year prior, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. The 2020 monthly average for exports has decreased to 522,000 tons, whereas the first six months of […]
The analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source nation. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about local import volume is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis is to describe in detail what is going on in a […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows hot rolled offers typically in the $460-$480 range. But sources tell us actual transactions are occurring anywhere from $480 down to $400, depending on volumes and other considerations. Thus, SMU puts the current benchmark price for hot rolled at $440 per ton, down $10 from […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows flat rolled steel prices firming up a bit as demand slowly recovers from the coronavirus disruptions. SMU puts the current benchmark price for hot rolled at $465 per ton, up from $440 last week. SMU’s Price Momentum Indicators remain at Neutral, though the market may […]
Capacity utilization by the domestic mills has topped 60 percent once again as the economy and steel demand continue their slow, painful recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,354,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 8, with the mills hitting an average utilization rate of […]
Capacity utilization by domestic steelmakers rose for the 10th week in a row last week, but remained about 25 percent behind production in the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,377,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 15, with the mills hitting […]
U.S. steel mills shipped 6,023,524 net tons in June, a 10.3 percent increase from the 5,461,851 net tons shipped in the previous month, but a 22.0 percent decrease from the 7,718,499 net tons shipped in June 2019, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute. Shipments year-to-date in 2020 total 41,218,207 net tons, a 14.5 percent […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive subscribers. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. July was the ninth consecutive month where imports were down by more than 20 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the latest Commerce Department data. […]
Recently released Census data shows final June steel imports totaled 1.40 million net tons, down 22 percent from May and down 50 percent from March, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is the lowest monthly import level since November 2009 when total imports were 1.38 million tons. This final June figure is just […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market over the past two days shows that nearly 70 percent of steel buyers believe prices are near a bottom, and the numbers support that view, showing little variation from last week. SMU puts the benchmark average price for hot rolled steel at $450 per ton, unchanged from last […]
Steel production by U.S. mills has been creeping steadily upward for the past eight weeks as the economy and steel demand slowly recover from the effects of the coronavirus. Production for the first seven months of the year remains nearly 20 percent below the same period in 2019, however. Adjusted year-to-date production through Aug. 1 totaled […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Last week, iron ore prices rallied, rising by $10.7 /dmt w/w. This was mainly due to very strong Chinese demand driven by high steelmaking margins, BFs operating at historic high capacity utilization rates and bullish market sentiment. Albeit rising iron ore inventories at […]
Hot rolled steel prices have declined nearly every week since early June when the benchmark price was at $515 to the current average of $450 per ton–a 13 percent decline in just seven weeks. Two out of three respondents to SMU’s poll of the market a week ago said they believe flat rolled steel prices are […]
U.S. raw steel production rose 0.7 percent to 5,453,000 net tons in June, as reported last week by the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. June production was well below the 2020 average of 6,687,000 tons, and down 31.7 percent compared to the same month last year. June production was 38,000 tons higher than […]
Steel imports into the United States declined by more than 20 percent in the first half of 2020, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute, based on preliminary Census Bureau data. Through the first six months of this year, total steel imports declined by 20.8 percent to 12.4 million tons, while finished steel imports declined […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows flat rolled and plate steel prices falling by a further $10, taking the benchmark hot rolled price down to $450 per ton. Most respondents expressed doubts that the price increase announced last week by the integrated mills will gain any traction, especially since the minimills […]
A possible indication that the economy and steel demand gradually continue to improve, domestic steelmakers increased raw steel production for the seventh week in a row to a total of 1,320,000 net tons in the period ending July 25 with the mills operating at an average utilization rate of 58.9 percent, reported the American Iron […]
Recently released preliminary steel import data shows June imports totaling 1.39 million net tons, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is down 410,000 tons or 23 percent compared to final May imports. Taking semifinished products out of the picture, imports of finished products were down 12 percent in June over the previous month; […]