Contributor: David Schollaert

MU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply declined for a third straight month in March, with shipping days of supply slipping to 49.3 on an adjusted basis, according to SMU data.

Heating and cooling equipment shipments recovered in February, surging 17% from January, according to the latest data released by AHRI.

SMU’s March ferrous scrap market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,045 per short ton (st), a $5/st bump from last week.

Sheet and plate prices continued to hold steady or tick upward once again this week. And the factors behind the gains are familiar ones: limited spot tonnage, stable demand, limited import competition, and outages (planned or otherwise) at domestic mills.

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product tightened this week.

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

The Chicago Business Barometer eased in March, after growing repeatedly from December to February, according to MNI and ISM.

CR imports from Germany, Italy, and Japan on a landed basis remain much more expensive than domestic product. But South Korean imports remain competitive, in theory, even with the 50% Section 232 tariff.

We just wrapped up another Steel 101 workshop. But this time, we had the privilege to take the most hands-on industry workshop on steelmaking and market fundamentals abroad.

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product remained within a tight band this week. The dynamic continues as both stateside and offshore prices have trended higher.

North American auto assemblies gained ground in February, up more than 8% vs. January, but still down more than 4% year on year (y/y), according to GlobalData.

SMU’s Mill Order Index (MOI) eased in February. The result came as a marginal increase in service center intake levels was offset by higher shipments, according to our latest service center inventories data.

Global raw steel production declined 3.7% from January to an estimated 141.8 million metric tons (mt) in February, according worldsteel data. Output was one of the lowest totals over the past three years.

Construction spending edged down slightly in January, slipping for the first time in three months.

Nucor raised its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,025 per short ton (st), up $10/st from last week.

US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply declined for a second consecutive month in February, with shipping days of supply slipping to 52.2 on an adjusted basis, according to SMU data.

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product widened this week, as stateside tags were little changed.

Cold-rolled (CR) coil prices ticked up in the US this week, matching a similar trend seen in most offshore markets as well.

Oregon Steel Mills and SSAB Americas announced higher plate prices to close out the week.

SMU’s March ferrous scrap market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members.

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product tightened this week, as stateside tags continue to rise.

Nucor’s consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil increased to $1,005 per short ton (st), up $15/st from last week.

I grew up in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil, surrounded by the Serra do Curral mountains, and a culture steeped in mining and vast iron ore reserves.

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR/HRC) and landed offshore product remained largely flat again this week, as price movements stateside and abroad mirrored each other.

The total amount of raw steel produced around the world recovered 5.5% from December to an estimated 147.3 million metric tons in January, according worldsteel.

Total construction starts edged up 0.7% in January to an annualized rate of $1.24 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network.

SMU’s Steel Demand Index slipped from earlier in the month, but remains above expansion territory, according to late-February indicators.