Steel prices, which have been trending upward for the past two months, gave a bit back this past week, according to Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market. Whether this is a change of direction or just a brief pause remains to be seen, but SMU’s Price Momentum Indicator continues to point higher. Here […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, Principal Economist Lisa Morrison, Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook In a recent insight series, CRU highlighted some of the challenges facing the three U.S. iron ore producers, Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal. The location of the mines and pellet plants […]
Domestic steelmakers increased their raw steel production for the seventh week in a row, raising the average capability utilization to 82.7 percent in the week ending Jan. 18. Raw steel production totaled 1,928,000 net tons, up 0.3 percent from the previous week and up 3.0 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American […]
Finished steel imports into the United States are trending down a bit in January, compared with December imports and the 12-month moving average. Based on Commerce Department import license applications in the first two weeks of January, the U.S. is on track to import around 1.47 million tons of finished steel this month. That’s roughly […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Manjot Singh, from CRU’s Raw Materials Monitor In the past week the coking coal market was characterized by mixed signals, keeping buyers cautious. We heard from a few sources that restrictions on coal intakes at major Chinese ports of Caofeidian and Jingtang could return soon. Currently there is no confirmation of […]
2019 was a challenge for steel suppliers, with both demand and pricing on a downward slope for the first three quarters of the year. Although it’s still early, there are signs 2020 could prove to be a better year for the steel industry. Steel mills, and the service centers that process and distribute their products, […]
Apparent U.S. steel supply slipped to 8.4 million net tons in November, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute and U.S. Department of Commerce. November supply is now at a three-year low, the lowest seen since November 2016 when supply was 8.1 million tons. Apparent steel supply, a proxy for demand, is […]
The price of hot rolled steel topped the $600 per ton mark this week, cresting a psychological barrier that many saw as unreachable two months ago. Opinions are split on how much higher HR can go, and how long it can stay above the $600 level. Prices for all flat rolled products increased by another […]
Domestic steelmakers increased their raw steel production for the second time this year, raising the average capability utilization to 82.5 percent in the week ending Jan. 11. Raw steel production totaled 1,923,000 net tons, up 1.3 percent from the previous week and up 2.8 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American Iron […]
U.S. raw steel production in November fell 2.2 percent to 7,812,925 net tons, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. November production is below the 2019 average of 8,063,863 tons and down 4.2 percent compared to the same month last year. Broken down by production method, 5,646,674 tons (72.3 percent) were produced by […]
The U.S. exported 601,290 tons of steel in November, according to final Census data, a 15 percent decrease from October and down 2 percent from the same month one year ago. This is the lowest level seen since June 2019. November exports were 3.5 percent below the 2019 average of 623,059 tons, and remain significantly […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from the CRU Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor In the past week, iron ore prices have remained at a high level as restocking in China has continued and there are increasing fears of Australian supply disruptions caused by Cyclone Claudia that passed north of the major iron ore ports in […]
December’s licensed import volume for rolled steel products was the lowest since December 2009. Year over year, total rolled product imports in December were down by 27.8 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 27.4 percent decrease in November, 17.7 percent decrease in October and 15.5 percent decline in September on […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update have reports available on our website that break out the import tonnage into district of entry and source nation for six sheet and plate product categories. This report takes the total national tonnage of hot rolled and breaks it down into product detail. Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) […]
As widely expected, Nucor was the first to announce another $40 increase in flat rolled steel prices Wednesday, followed closely by ArcelorMittal USA, NLMK USA, California Steel Industries, USS-POSCO Industries and Algoma Steel. This represents the fifth round of price hikes by the major mills since late October totaling around $190 per ton. In a […]
Flat rolled mills raised prices by another $40 per ton this week and the plate mills are expected to follow suit soon, possibly yet this week. “Lead times have jumped out to February-March-April. Scrap is up $20-30. The mills will certainly go for plate increase number four since November,” said one Steel Market Update source. […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti and Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Iron Ore Costs Following suspensions of iron ore production in Minas Gerais, Vale’s Northern System located in the Pará state will account for a growing share of the company’s total production. Despite some supply issues in 2019, production is ramping up and […]
The uptrend in steel prices has continued into the New Year with flat rolled prices increasing by another $10-20 per ton. SMU’s Price Momentum Indicators continue to point higher for all steel products. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $580-$600 per ton ($29.00-$30.00/cwt) with an average […]
Despite the holidays, domestic steelmakers managed to increase their mill utilization to 82.0 percent in the week ending Jan. 4. The last time weekly production was that high was in May 2019. Raw steel production totaled 1,898,000 net tons, up 1.2 percent from the previous week and up 2.0 percent compared with the same week […]
By CRU Analysts, from CRU’s Bulk Ferroalloys Monitor U.S. finished steel prices have risen following price increase announcements that found support from service center restocking. Adding to this price support was the scrap market, where scarcer supply and increased mill demand put prices on an upward trajectory. Some steel products have enjoyed quicker price gains […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook Iron ore prices rose sharply in the past week as Chinese restocking has continued and concerns about a cyclone forming northeast of Pilbara have increased. On Tuesday, Jan. 7, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $95.5 /t, up $4.5 /t […]
By Peter Ghilchik, Head of CRU Multi Commodity Analysis and Production, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service CRU expects a return to commodity demand growth in 2020, albeit a weak recovery, as industrial production growth recovers to 2.2 percent; however, risk is heavily weighted to the downside. Economic uncertainty, weak demand and an increasing focus on […]
Domestic steelmakers finished 2019 strong and managed to keep the average mill capability utilization above the desired 80 percent rate for the year. Mill utilization increased to 81.1 percent in the week ending Dec. 28, the last full week of the year. Raw steel production totaled 1,876,000 net tons, up 0.5 percent from the previous […]
Sellers of secondary/nonprime steel are looking forward to a strong start to 2020, thanks to favorable market conditions and rising prices for prime steel products. As with many other products, there is a market for “seconds” in steel. Some distributors specialize, and others dabble, in finding new homes for coils that buyers have rejected for […]
Mill capability utilization inched back over the 80 percent mark in the week ending Dec. 21. Production totaled 1,866,000 net tons at 80.1 percent capacity, up 1.2 percent from the previous week and up 0.3 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Adjusted year-to-date production through Dec. 21 […]
With the month nearly complete, finished steel imports into the United States in December are trending in line with October and November at just over 1.4 million tons, based on Steel Market Update’s projections of Commerce Department license data. Finished steel imports in the fourth quarter have been well below the 12-month average of around […]
By CRU Analyst Sam Grant, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor The North American market (U.S., Canada and Mexico) accounts for approximately 9.6 percent of global refined zinc demand. This year, we have seen a sharp slowdown in both global trade and industrial production, with the North American region experiencing its slowest rate of IP growth since […]
In Steel Market Update’s latest raw materials report, Table 1 summarizes the price changes through Dec. 18 of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and 12 months/12 months changes on a percentage basis. Four of the five materials under consideration had a positive price movement in December. […]
Flat rolled steel and plate prices remained range-bound this week. The latest price moves by the domestic steel mills (+$40/ton on flat rolled) did not have time to move the needle and take prices higher. As we enter the Christmas and Hanukkah Holidays, we anticipate minimal spot trades over the next couple of weeks. SMU […]
As widely expected, Nucor and U.S. Steel raised their flat rolled prices by $40 per ton on Monday, effective immediately on new spot orders, following on a comparable announcement by ArcelorMittal USA on Friday. NLMK USA is reported to be following suit, but has not issued a written announcement. USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) raised its base […]