Raw steel production by U.S. steelmakers in the week ending Dec. 15 inched up to 80.6 percent capability utilization. Steel production totaled 1,890,000 net tons for the week, up 0.7 percent from the prior week, and up 12.8 percent from the prior year, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute. Domestic mills have been running […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary Zinc’s price shed more than $1,000/t from its 2018 high in the mid-$3,500s in February to its year-to-date low of $2,311 in September, driven down by a combination of factors both in its own market fundamentals and in the broader political and economic landscape. The warranting of 78,950t in […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary The global transition towards sustainable energy sources is set to accelerate over the coming decades as some of the world’s largest consumers of energy look to reduce carbon emissions, with the USA and EU targeting net zero emissions by 2050 and China by 2060. In this Insight, we bring […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The steel sheet market in North America is starting the second half of the year off with the same primary trends seen in the past few quarters: rising prices due to strong demand and supply that continues to be affected by unplanned disruptions. […]
Tenaris, a global manufacturer and distributor of energy tubular products, has begun the second phase of its service center expansion in Midland, Texas. The project will add pipe and tube storage and service capabilities for customers in the Permian basin and other key shale plays across the U.S. Phase 2 consists of several stages of […]
We are seeing steel price spreads, the range from low to high on a product, tighten this week. Part of the reason is the lack of SMU collecting low-ball orders this week as we did last on galvanized. A second reason is that the high end of the range is being compressed. The net result […]
U.S. steel imports continue to trend down in December, according to import license data from the Department of Commerce. Imports are on track to total around 2.3 million tons this month, well below the preliminary total of 2.6 million tons in November and far below the nearly 3.3 million tons in October. Domestic steelmakers have […]
U.S. steel exports in October totaled 631,087 net tons (572,513 metric tons), up 7.9 percent from September, but down 28.5 percent from October 2017. Although up over the previous month, October export levels remain low in comparison to previous years. The September figure of 584,858 was the lowest monthly export figure seen in nearly 16 […]
October apparent steel supply increased to 9,557,437 net tons, according to government data released late last week. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel exports. October apparent steel supply saw a 201,816 ton or 2.2 percent increase compared to the same month […]
Total raw steel production for the month of October was 8,330,505 net tons, the highest production level since August 2014 when 8,546,303 tons were produced. Broken down by production method, 5,724,209 tons were produced by electric arc furnaces (EAFs) and 2,606,296 tons were produced by blast furnaces. October production was 333,505 tons or 4.2 percent […]
Raw steel production by U.S. steelmakers in the week ending Dec. 8 saw a slight dip for the third week in a row, possibly reflecting seasonal weaknesss, but stayed at the 80.0 percent capacity utilization level the mills strive to maintain. Steel production totaled 1,876,000 net tons for the week, down 0.8 percent from the […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive members in this issue. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. This early look at November import license data shows that total rolled product imports declined by 17.3 percent year over year, calculated as a three-month moving average (3MMA). Imports of […]
Flat rolled steel prices seem to be on a bit of an extra rollercoaster ride as the domestic mills fill out any holes in their order book for December and book new orders for January and February. Over the past few weeks, Steel Market Update has managed to collect some very low data points on […]
Steel Market Update spent a portion of the day today speaking with trading companies about their view of the markets, demand and the amount of foreign steel projected to come into the United States over the next few months. The traders are worried about what will happen to their customers if the amount of foreign […]
Raw steel production by U.S. steelmakers in the week ending Dec. 1 backslid a bit, but stayed above the 80 percent level that the mills hope to maintain. Steel production totaled 1,892,000 net tons for the week, down a slight 0.7 percent from the prior week, but up 11.1 percent from the prior year. The […]
U.S. steel imports are trending down in November to around 2.5 million tons from the preliminary total of 3.3 million tons in October, according to import license data from the Department of Commerce. The November decline is largely a result of fewer imports of semi-finished products. Imports of slabs jumped in October to nearly 1.3 […]
Both Steel Market Update and the CRU Group forecast lower steel prices next year. With a new North America free trade agreement soon to be signed, the U.S. is likely to lift or modify the Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico, opening the borders to more imports and adding to the downward pressure on […]
We did not collect as many low price data points on hot rolled this week as we did last. We did see erosion at the upper end of the range as most offers appear to be trending below $800 per ton. Steel buyers continue to worry about the basic laws of supply and demand. There […]
Few of the steel buyers canvassed by Steel Market Update this week expect flat roll prices to rise significantly in the first quarter. Most anticipate prices stabilizing or continuing to trend downward, especially if the Trump administration lifts the Section 232 tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The promise of increased supplies from the […]
U.S. steelmakers have produced 5.6 percent more raw steel so far this year. Adjusted year-to-date production through Nov. 24 totaled 85,639,000 net tons. The increase is the result of a nearly 4 percent improvement in capacity utilization, to an average annual rate of 78.1 percent from 74.2 percent in 2017, reports the American Iron and […]
Flat rolled steel prices dropped again this week. One of our domestic steel mill sources told us this afternoon, “Everything is down about a buck from last week.” This source went on to say that the U.S. steel mills are producing more and exporting less. The net result being there is more supply available. Here […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released updated license data on October and November foreign steel imports on Tuesday. The latest data shows October imports at just over 3 million net tons, well above the 2.3 million ton dip reported for the month of September. The majority of this change is due to an increase in […]
September apparent steel supply declined to 9,101,986 net tons, according to government data released late last week. This is the third lowest level of the year, above only February (8.8 million tons) and June (8.9 million tons). Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total […]
Mill utilization among domestic steelmakers continues to inch upward and is now well above the profitable 80 percent level the industry hopes to maintain. U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 17 totaled 1,924,000 net tons for a capability utilization rate of 82.1 percent, a half-percent more than the prior week and a […]
By the CRU Zinc Analysis Team After reaching a 3-month high above $2,700/t on Oct. 24, zinc’s price shed $200/t in a matter of days as a tech stock rout caused shares to plunge in Asia and the USA, compounded by concerns over the outlook for global trade and economic growth. The tide briefly turned […]
Steel buyers can be fickle people. They are tasked with keeping their company in product, and that those purchases be competitively priced at the time they are used. This is a daunting task when markets ebb and flow, and even more difficult when the government decides to become a major player in determining who will […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices have lifted since last week, primarily due to concerns over BHP suspending operations on its Pilbara network. [Editor’s note: BHP suspended rail operations in Western Australia after it was forced to deliberately derail a runaway ore train on Nov. 5.] This caused iron ore prices to […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce has released import license data for the months of October and November through the 13th of the month. October foreign steel imports are expected to reach 3 million net tons on the back of almost 900,000 net tons of semi-finished steels (mostly slabs going to the domestic steel mills). It […]
Flat rolled steel prices dropped this week based on our analysis of the market. Benchmark hot rolled coil dropped $5 per ton and is now averaging $800 per ton ($40.00/cwt). We saw even larger negative price movements in cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels. Plate prices, however, were flat and the expectation of plate steel […]
Domestic steelmakers have been able to sustain operations above 80 percent capacity utilization for a month now, keeping production at the highest rate seen in a decade. U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 10 totaled 1,915,000 net tons, a utilization rate of 81.7 percent, just slightly below the prior week, but a 12.1 […]