Cleveland-Cliffs announced that CFO Timothy K. Flanagan is leaving the company and will be succeeded by Keith Koci as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately. Regarding the personnel change, Cleveland-Cliffs’ Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lourenco Goncalves, stated: “I appreciate the work done by Tim Flanagan during the last several years […]
The average capability utilization for U.S. steelmakers hit 81.5 percent in the week ending Feb. 9, the highest rate in about three months, with the mills producing 1,897,000 net tons of steel. Production increased 0.4 percent from the prior week and was up 4.4 percent from the same week the prior year, reported the American […]
November apparent steel supply was calculated at 9,140,649 net tons, according to data released late last week. Apparent steel supply is determined by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel exports. November apparent steel supply saw a 417,102 ton or 4.8 percent increase compared to the same month […]
U.S. steel exports in November totaled 615,818 net tons (558,661 metric tons), down 2.4 percent from October, and down 30.2 percent from levels one year ago. After the September 2018 low of 584,858 tons, last November is the next lowest month for exports since February 2009 when 602,945 tons of steel were exported outside of […]
By Erik Hedborg, CRU Senior Analyst The recent dam breach in Brazil will complicate iron ore pellet premia negotiations and is likely to lead to steel mills eventually accepting sharp premia increases. As a result of the dam breach, Vale has suspended 11 Mt/y of pellet production in the Southern System and the recently revoked operating […]
The recent mining disaster in Vale prompted a flurry of concern from analysts on the Cleveland Cliffs earnings call. Cleveland Cliff’s CEO Lourenco Goncalves said on Friday that the impact from the Vale mining disaster has yet to be properly quantified. Estimates of 11 million tons of capacity loss are likely to be double that, […]
Rolled product imports increased by 4.5 percent in January, calculated as a three-month moving average (3MMA) year over year. This early look at January’s import volume is based on Department of Commerce license data (see explanation below). Beginning in January 2018, we expanded this import analysis to include all major steel sectors: sheet, plate, longs […]
We gathered mixed results regarding flat rolled and plate steel pricing over the past two days. When we say mixed, we don’t mean some prices falling while other prices were rising. What we found was pricing stable to rising. We heard from a number of buyers that there were mills still actively pursuing prices at, […]
Steel Market Update data and comments from industry executives suggest that steel prices may be near a firm bottom. Prices are trying to move higher following the mills’ $40 per ton increase announcement last month. SMU’s Steel Price Momentum Indicators remains at Neutral, but we will be reviewing the situation over the next few days. […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released all kinds of foreign steel import data late this afternoon. We are studying the numbers to see if they make sense, as one of the steel mills told SMU late today that the mechanical pipe and some of the other pipe categories appear to be out of whack. In […]
Harsh winter weather likely contributed to a slight slowdown in the rate of raw steel production last week after two weeks above 1.9 million tons. U.S. steelmakers produced 1,889,000 net tons of steel in the week ending Feb. 2, operating at a capability utilization rate of 81.2 percent. Production was down 1.7 percent from the […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices continued to climb during the week as uncertainty regarding Vale’s supply persists. With weak buying in China due to the holidays, we have seen the market react by pushing the 62% Fe fines price up to $86.00 /t, $7.40 higher w/w. The Vale story continues to […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released import license data through the month of December 2018 earlier this week. The December license data is showing a large reduction in semi-finished imports (mostly slabs going to domestic steel mills). SMU believes the lower slab numbers may be due to quotas from Brazil having been reached, thus capping […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Erik Hedborg and Andrew Gadd The death toll after the tailings dam accident at Vale’s Córrego do Feijão mine continues to climb, as 84 people are now confirmed dead and close to 300 are still missing. Five people have been arrested; three managers at the Córrego do Feijão mine site and […]
Steel Market Update has confirmed that ArcelorMittal joined the other major mills in raising flat rolled steel prices this week. ArcelorMittal notified its commercial team that it is raising base prices a minimum of $40 per ton on all light flat rolled sheet products, effective immediately. The increase applies to all new and unacknowledged orders […]
We have seen Nucor, U.S. Steel, NLMK USA and ArcelorMittal move spot flat rolled base prices up $40 per ton effective immediately. That is what was announced this week. The reality is not yet clear, and the prices referenced in tonight’s pricing assessment only marginally take the increases into account as negotiations are very early […]
Major domestic steelmakers have announced a $40 per ton ($2/cwt) hike in the price of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products, fueling the debate over whether current market conditions can support an increase or if the latest announcement is bound to flop like the last one in October. West Coast mills California Steel […]
By CRU Iron Ore Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg The tragic dam accident in Brazil together with a cyclone off the Australian coast lifted iron ore prices in the past week. On Tuesday, Jan. 29, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe, CFR China fines price at $78.60 /t, up $2.60 /t w/w. The tragic accident in […]
U.S. steelmakers operated at 81.1 percent of their capability in the week ending Jan. 26, producing 1,922,000 net tons of raw steel. It has been a year since the mills produced that much in a single week. It was also the second week this month that steel production was above 1.9 million tons. Steel production […]
U.S. Steel is the latest mill to announce a price increase. Like Nucor, U.S. Steel notified its sales organization on Monday that its base pricing for all new flat rolled spot orders would increase by a minimum of $40 per net ton, effective immediately. U.S. Steel’s last price change on flat rolled was also a […]
Following on last week’s announcement by West Coast mills, Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group today also announced a $40 per ton ($2/cwt) increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products, effective immediately on new and unconfirmed orders. The price hike comes as no surprise as Nucor and other mills east of the Rockies were […]
A dam belonging to Brazil mining company Vale collapsed on Friday, killing numerous people and leaving hundreds missing. The dam, holding byproducts from the Feijao mining operation Brumadinho in Minas Gerai, released a torrent of sludge on the dam complex and nearby farms and neighborhoods. Approximately 300 Vale employees were working at the site when […]
There has been a downward reversal in raw materials prices in the last month. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through January of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 months/3 months and 12 months/12 months changes and tells us that price movements have been negative for all materials except […]
The plate markets have been acting quite differently than the hot rolled markets for some time. As hot rolled prices have eroded, plate prices have stabilized, with discrete plate trading around $1,000 per ton, delivered to the mill’s customer. We are seeing the dynamics of the plate markets changing, and SMU wants to be careful […]
All is quiet on the eastern front (the western front announced increases yesterday – so, not so quiet there). Steel buyers have been telling Steel Market Update over the past few days that their inventories are stable to high, they are not comfortable with all of the uncertainty and concerned with the lack of transparency […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) and USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) announced price increases of $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) on Monday, hoping to stem the slide in flat-rolled steel prices that began last summer. The announcements do not include plate. In its Jan. 21 letter to customers, CSI stated that it is opening its order book for flat-rolled […]
On Monday, California Steel Industries (CSI) and USS/POSCO (UPI) advised customers of their intention to take spot prices on flat rolled products produced by the two mills up by $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt). This is the first price announcement out of either mill since October 2018. So far, there have not been any announcements out […]
Raw steel production by U.S. steelmakers in the week ending Jan. 19 totaled 1,912,000 net tons for a capability utilization of 80.7 percent. Steel production was up 1.1 percent from the prior week and up 11.5 percent from the same week last year when the utilization rate was 73.6 percent, reported the American Iron and […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores Scrap prices in the U.S. fell $30 /lt m/m in January, the first time since 2006 that prices have declined in the month. The fall was also the largest December to January decrease in at least two decades for obsolete grades. The unusual decline occurred because supply outpaced demand […]
Steel Market Update spoke with a number of foreign steel trading companies who service the North American market today. There was one very clear theme no matter who I spoke with – steel buyers are not willing to take any risk on foreign steel with spreads less than $60 per ton. A second common theme: […]