Thomas Hosea, executive director, GPSC Central Operations at General Motors will speak at the upcoming SMU Steel Summit Conference this August. Hosea will share General Motors’ view on their move to electric vehicles. Hosea is responsible for creating and executing strategies that will ensure a resilient and sustainable value chain for GM’s raw material and Customer […]
Steel Market Update will be taking time off in observance of Independence Day. We will not publish an issue on Sunday, July 3, and our offices will be closed on Monday, July 4. Our weekly pricing service will not be impacted. We will resume our regular publication schedule and our pricing service on Tuesday, July […]
Steel Market Update sources expect ferrous scrap prices to fall again in July, the third consecutive month of declines since March and April’s record high prices. Both prime and obsolete grades are expected to decrease $50 per gross ton or more, with some saying prime could fall as much as $100 per ton. “The swiftness […]
The appeal of foreign hot rolled coil (HRC) over domestic steel is slowly diminishing, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic HRC price comparison. Between mid-April and late May, foreign steel prices generally declined at a faster rate than domestic prices, resulting in greater potential discounts on imported products. Now, domestic prices are declining at a faster […]
Earlier this week SMU canvassed steel buyers on a variety of subjects, ranging from steel prices to supply and demand to new mill capacity. We are sharing the comments we received in each buyers’ own words, rather than summarizing them in ours. Want to have your voice heard and share your comments with SMU? Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com […]
Preliminary Census data shows that steel imports in May currently total 2.74 million net tons, 6,000 tons higher than April, but down 11% from March’s 26-month high of 3.09 million tons. June import licenses are now at 2.29 million tons, 16% less than April and May levels, and potentially the lowest level seen since Feb. […]
Steel Market Update’s average hot-rolled coil price has fallen below $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt) for the first time since December 2020 – or 18 months ago. The move comes as some market participants said that a floor might be near while others said such talk was mostly wishful thinking. Our benchmark hot-rolled coil […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) announced today the creation of a joint venture with Aymium, a producer of renewable biocarbon products. Operating under the name SDI Biocarbon Solutions, LLC, SDI will hold a 55% stake and Aymium owns the remaining 45%. The company plans to create a biocarbon production facility to supply SDI’s electric arc furnace […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index fell 11 points to an 18-month low last week, the largest survey-to-survey decline since April 2020. Our Future Sentiment Index also declined significantly last week, following another large decline four weeks prior. SMU surveys steel buyers every other week and asks how they view their chances of success […]
Prices for six of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis declined over the last 30 days, again receding from record-high levels seen 2-3 months prior. Through the latest data available as of June 23, coking coal prices decreased 28% compared to one month prior, aluminum prices fell 15%, iron ore and […]
The number of total active drilling rigs in the US increased again this week, while Canadian rigs decreased after multiple weekly increases, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in operation is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil […]
The latest SMU Market Survey results are now available on our website to all Premium members. After logging in at SteelMarketUpdate.com, visit the Analysis tab and look under the “Survey Results” section for “Latest Survey Results.” Historical survey results are also available in the Survey Results section under “Survey Results History.” If you need help […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot rolled coil (HRC) over domestic steel is beginning to ease, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic HRC price comparison. Foreign products now hold potential discounts of 9-15% over domestic steel, versus savings of 12-26% one month ago. Between mid-April and late May, foreign steel prices generally declined at […]
Steel Market Update’s latest market check revealed that steel mill lead times continue to inch down for sheet and plate products as they move closer to historical norms. On average, lead times declined by 0.2 weeks compared to our early June figures and are down 0.4 weeks compared to one month ago. Lead times over […]
Approximately 84% of steel buyers report that mills are willing to talk price to secure an order, according to executives polled in our latest steel market survey. The rate of willingness to negotiate has remained over 50% in each of our market checks since early May and is now at the highest level since early […]
Sheet prices continued to fall this week on lower raw material costs, a buyers’ strike and concerns in some corners about a potential recession. But that gloomy sentiment was not universally shared, with some sources pointing to strong or at least steady demand despite the lower prices. SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price now stands at […]
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices is resuming the downward trend seen prior to the Russia-Ukraine war, according to the latest Steel Market Update data. The HRC-scrap spread reached an 18-month low in early March. The latest spread, calculated through June 14, is less than half what it was this time last year […]
The Energy Information Administration’s June Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) remains subject to a high level of uncertainty due to factors such as sanctions affecting Russia’s oil production, the production decisions of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), and the rate at which US producers increase drilling. Due to these uncertainties, the EIA continues to […]
Steel Market Update sources report ferrous scrap prices declined from May to June, dropping further from the record high prices seen in March and April. Prime grades declined between $55-75 per gross ton, with obsolete grades down $50-70 per ton. This puts the SMU price indices for scrap as follows: Busheling scrap at $600-670 per […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot rolled coil (HRC) over domestic steel remains high, but imports are not as competitive as they had been, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic HRC price comparison. Between mid-April and late May, foreign steel prices generally declined at a faster rate than domestic prices, resulting in greater potential discounts on imported […]
SMU on Monday and Tuesday canvassed steel buyers on a variety of subjects ranging from future steel prices and new capacity to demand and supply chain issues. As we did earlier this month, we are sharing the comments we received in each buyers’ own words rather than summarizing them in ours. Want to have your voice […]
Hot-rolled coil prices have suffered their biggest week-over-week decline since before the war in Ukraine sent tags sharply higher. Steel Market Update’s average hot-rolled coil price stands at $1,100 per ton ($55.50 per cwt), down $90 per ton from $1,190 per ton last week and down $265 per ton from $1,365 per ton in mid-May. […]
US apparent steel supply eased from March to April, declining 4% to 9.09 million net tons, according to the latest US Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data. Recall that supply reached a six-year high last September at 9.92 million tons, declining each month through February. Supply rebounded 14% in March […]
US heating and cooling equipment shipments fell 9% to 2.07 million units in April, following a 24% jump in March, according to data from the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Recall that March saw the third highest monthly shipment rate in our history at 2.28 million units, with the record high occurring in June […]
US steel exports declined 2% in April to 830,000 net tons, falling from the 45-month high seen in March, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. On a 12-month moving average, April exports have now risen to a 39-month record high. Total April exports are 9% higher than levels seen one year ago. As shown in the graph […]
The latest SMU Market Survey results are now available on our website to all Premium members. After logging in at SteelMarketUpdate.com, visit the Analysis tab and look under the “Survey Results” section for “Latest Survey Results.” Historical survey results are also available in the Survey Results section under “Survey Results History.” If you need help […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index remained unchanged last week, holding steady at the third-lowest level seen in the past 13 months. Our Future Sentiment Index also remains unchanged compared to our late-May reading (which was the largest survey-to-survey decline since March 2020). SMU surveys steel buyers every other week and asks how they view their chances of success […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot rolled over domestic steel remains high, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison. Since mid-April, foreign steel prices have declined at a faster rate compared to domestic prices, resulting in greater potential discounts on imported products. Select foreign prices now range between $119-238 per […]
Steel Market Update’s latest market check indicates steel mill lead times continue to decline for sheet products as they move closer to historical norms. Plate lead times have been relatively flat since mid-May. Lead times over the past two weeks have been roughly in line with what we were seeing in the early weeks of […]
Three out of four buyers report that mills are willing to talk price to secure an order, according to executives polled in our latest steel market survey. Mills’ willingness to negotiate has remained over 50% in each of our market checks over the last four weeks. Every other week, SMU asks survey respondents: Are you […]