Throughout the day (Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017), Steel Market Update (SMU) has been discussing steel prices, AK Steel’s price announcement and whether or not there is any way the mills will be able to collect another $30 (or anything) based on what is happening in the market right now. “This increase puzzled all of us. […]
Domestic raw steel production totaled 1,733,000 net tons in the week ending Sept. 9, an 8.9 percent increase from the same period last year, but a decrease of 0.8 percent from the prior week. The mill capability utilization rate was 74.3 percent, down slightly from 74.9 percent the prior week, but up from 68.0 percent […]
There was little movement in the steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update (SMU) last week. Both Platts and SMU have hot rolled average as being $630 per ton ($31.50/cwt). Cold rolled average was $805 (+$5) out of Platts and $810 (-$5) on our own CRC index. Galvanized was up $5 to $893 per ton […]
Apparent steel supply for the month of July totaled 9,570,118 net tons, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute. Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel exports. July apparent steel supply […]
U.S. steel exports in July totaled 806,512 net tons (731,656 metric tons), down 11.5 percent over June, but up 9.3 percent from July 2016. Total exports have declined over the last two months after reaching a 2.5-year high in May (1,006,087 tons). The total July export figure is below the three-month moving average (average of […]
We believe that misinformation, or a lack of information, about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis of sheet steel imports by district of entry and source through July 2017 is to describe in detail what is going on in a company’s immediate neighborhood and thus provide […]
Total rolled steel imports increased by 10.8 percent in the three months through August compared to the three months through May. Sheet product imports rose by 14.3 percent on the same basis, according to final license data for August reported by the U.S. Commerce Department on Aug. 6. The data is reported within the Steel […]
Late yesterday (Sept. 6), AK Steel announced a new $30 per ton flat rolled price increase. AK Steel last announced a flat rolled price increase three weeks ago when on Aug. 16 the steel mill raised prices by $30 per ton. So far this year, AK Steel has made seven price increase announcements totaling $215 […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) released final census data on July foreign steel imports. The DOC advised total steel imports of 3,482,524 net tons. When semi-finished steels are removed (slabs/billets/blooms), finished steel imports totaled 2,896,389 net tons. At the same time, the DOC advised the latest license data for the month of August. As […]
Domestic raw steel production totaled 1,747,000 net tons in the week ending Sept. 2, up 0.4 percent from the prior week and an 8.6 percent increase from the same period in 2016. The mill capability utilization rate was 74.9 percent for the week, up from 68.8 percent in the same week last year, reports the […]
Flat rolled prices have been mixed since we last produced our indices on Thursday of last week. The expectation is for prices to go higher from here, although Steel Market Update (SMU) is waiting to see how those responding to our flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire feel about the current and future markets. We […]
The various steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update (SMU) had flat rolled and steel plate prices as mixed last week. SMU, Platts and SteelBenchmarker all had hot rolled prices as averaging $630 per ton. SMU had HRC up $5, SteelBenchmarker was up $10 and Platts remained the same as the prior week. Cold rolled […]
We did not review pricing earlier this week due to all of our staff being at the SMU Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta. During the conference, we did not want to discuss pricing in an open format. We did check on pricing today and found mixed results depending on the product. Within the data, we […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released Preliminary July import data as well as August license requests through the 29th of the month. The July Preliminary Census number has foreign steel imports as being 3,471,614 net tons. This is down from the June 3.9 million ton level. However, what continues to be concerning is the August […]
Domestic raw steel production for the week ending Aug. 26 totaled 1,740,000 net tons, a 5.1 percent increase from the same period last year, but down 1.3 percent from the previous week. The mill capability utilization rate for the Aug. 26 week was 74.6 percent, up from 70.8 percent the same time last year. Adjusted […]
In this report, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc. To put the raw materials analysis into perspective, we begin with Figure 1, which shows the spread between Chicago #1 busheling and hot rolled coil ex works Indiana through Aug. 18, both in dollars/net ton. On this date, Aug. […]
A subsidiary of Canadian steel processor and Nova Steel is looking for a location in the United States to build a pipe and tube manufacturing plant. Cleveland, Ohio, hopes to entice Nova Tube and Steel LLC with a prime spot along Interstate 77 near ArcelorMittal and access to the Cuyahoga River and the Great Lakes. […]
Last week, Steel Market Update (SMU) saw prices as being modestly higher than the week before, while Platts held their prices steady. For the week, SMU had hot rolled up $10, but our $625 per ton average is still below the $630 being reported by Platts. Cold rolled prices averaged $815 per ton at SMU […]
Driven by a steep drop-off in shipments from Brazil, U.S. steel imports fell 11.5 percent from June to July. Despite the monthly decline, the 3.47 million net tons of imports were still up 6.3 percent compared to July of last year, reports the American Institute for International Steel, Alexandria, Va. Imports from Brazil plunged more […]
Today, 25 steel mills and related companies, as well as the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), sent a letter to President Trump asking that he act on Section 232 and stop foreign steel from damaging the domestic steel industry. According to the letter, 30 percent of the apparent supply […]
Last week, the flat rolled and plate steel mills announced price increases. Steel Market Update has seen prices rise in the mill spot markets (not in the service center spot markets) by $10 to $20 per ton. We are hearing from steel buyers (and a couple of mills) that the number of spot orders have […]
Domestic raw steel production totaled 1,763,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 19, a 6.5 percent increase from the same period last year, but a 1 percent decline from the prior week, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute in Washington. The mill capability utilization rate for the week averaged 75.6 percent, up significantly […]
During the week of Aug. 14, 2017, the U.S. steel mills advised their flat rolled and steel plate customers of their intention to increase spot prices on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels, as well as plate. The flat rolled mills announced $30 per ton base price increases on new spot business. For […]
Zinc prices hit a 10-year high this past week, climbing to $3,000 per metric ton ($1.36 per pound) on the London Metal Exchange on Wednesday. Strong global demand and shrinking inventory boosted prices, as well as a shortage of Chinese zinc. The primary use of zinc is for the production of coated steels such as […]
The three steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update reporting this past week saw prices differently. Steel Market Update, which gathered its pricing information on Monday through Wednesday of this past week, found prices to be lower on all flat rolled products and plate. Platts, on the other hand, reported hot rolled prices higher late […]
SSAB Americas announced a $40 per ton price increase on non-contract plate orders, effective Oct. 1. The increase will apply to as-rolled mill plate, cut-to-length plate >72”, hot rolled >72”, as well as normalized and quenched & tempered plate. “SSAB continues to monitor market conditions in order to better realize the value our products bring […]
The number of U.S.-based flat rolled steel mills announcing price increases on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume has reached six. On Tuesday of this week, Nucor Sheet Mill Group became the first flat rolled steel mill to raise transaction pricing on spot flat rolled steel. The Nucor increase was for a “minimum” of […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest license data for foreign steel imports for the month of August. Beginning in March 2017, imports have exceeded 3.0 million tons, perhaps peaking in June at just shy of 4.0 million tons. The expectation has been for import levels to drop due to concerns about the Section […]
Flat rolled steel prices slipped over the past week just as the domestic steel mills began to announce new price increases. Were the increases in reaction to the slippage? Were they in response to new higher scrap costs for August delivery? Most likely, it was a combination of both. We found the spread widening on […]
Four flat rolled steel mills, Nucor, NLMK USA, California Steel Industries (CSI) and ArcelorMittal USA, announced spot price increases today on all flat rolled steels produced at each mill. The Nucor Sheet Mill Group, which handles flat rolled steel products, announced a minimum of $30 per ton ($1.50/cwt) price increase on hot rolled, cold rolled […]