Contributor: David Schollaert

The latest oil and gas rig count in the US increased slightly from last week, while Canadian activity edged lower, according to Baker Hughes.

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

Architecture firms continued to report a sharp reduction in billings in January, according to the latest Architecture Billings Index (ABI) released by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Deltek.

Buyers responding to our latest market survey reported that steel mill lead times were stretching out this week for sheet and plate products tracked by SMU. The results weren’t much of a surprise. Production times have begun moving out following a wave of frenzied buying in response to stricter Section 232 announced by the Trump […]

The latest SMU Community Chat webinar reply is now available on our website to all members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the community tab and look under the “previous webinars” section of the dropdown menu. All past Community Chat webinars are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the webinar replay, or if your company […]

Sheet and plate prices surged higher this week on a wave of what some called “panic buying” following the Trump administration’s announcement of stricter Section 232 measures last week.

Business activity in New York state’s manufacturing sector recovered nicely in February after a sharp decline the previous month, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The general business conditions index rose 18 points to 5.7. This is a diffusion index, where a positive reading signifies […]

The price spread between US-produced cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore CR products widened again in the week ended Feb. 14, as prices for US product accelerated ahead of imports. Domestic CR coil tags jumped week on week (w/w), while offshore markets moved higher at a slower pace. The result? The US premium over imports widened […]

Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices rose further in the US this week, while tags abroad saw minor gains. The result: the margin US hot band holds over imports on a landed basis increased.

Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $790 per short ton (st) on Monday, Feb. 10 – a $15/st bump vs. last week. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company has raised its weekly CSP by $40/st over the past three weeks after maintaining tags at $750/st since Nov. 12, according to SMU’s […]

SMU’s inaugural ferrous scrap market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past flat-rolled survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or […]

Evraz, SSAB Americas, and Nucor have all followed up on their initial price bumps at the opening of their March order books with a second round of increases.

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

Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices moved up again in the US this week, while tags abroad were largely flat. The result: the margin US hot band holds over imports on a landed basis widened further.

SSAB Americas has again followed Nucor’s lead, raising plate prices by $80 per short ton (st). The increase is effective immediately for all new non-contract orders, as the steelmaker stated in a letter to customers on Wednesday, Feb. 5. “SSAB Americas reserves the right to re-quote any open offers not confirmed by an SSAB order […]

Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group was raising prices for as-rolled, discrete, cut-to-length, and normalized plate “in response to current market conditions.” The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Tuesday, Feb. 4, after market close, that it would be seeking an increase of $40 per short ton (st). Nucor […]

Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $775 per short ton (st) on Monday, Feb. 3. The $15/st week-on-week (w/w) rise marks the first back-to-back increases in the steelmaker’s weekly CSP since last August, according to SMU’s mill price announcement calendar. Nucor’s joint-venture subsidiary California Steel Industries (CSI) is also up […]

The price spread between US-produced cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore products narrowed again in the week ended Jan. 31, as imports edged higher and US product ticked lower.

Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices ticked up in the US this week, while tags abroad were mixed. The result: the margin US hot band holds over imports on a landed basis widened slightly.

North American auto assemblies dropped in December, a sharp 22.6% fall below November, reaching the lowest mark in over three years. Assemblies were also down 5.7% year on year (y/y), according to LMC Automotive data. December’s assemblies reached the lowest total since July 2021. Sentiment remains tempered as carmakers continue to downgrade and adjust vehicle […]

US light-vehicle (LV) sales jumped to an unadjusted 1.49 million units in December, a rise of 9.6% from November and 2% from a year ago, according to data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. On an annualized basis, LV sales were 16.8 million units in December, up from 15.6 million units the month prior […]

Repeated mill price hikes this week may have stopped the bleeding and could signal a rebound.

Two US plate mills – SSAB Americas and Evraz North America (NA) – have followed Nucor so far in raising plate prices, with the opening of their March order books. The increases are effective immediately for all new orders, both mills said in letters to customers. Evraz NA said it was increasing transactions by at […]

Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group was raising prices for as-rolled, discrete, cut-to-length, and normalized plate with the opening of its March order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday morning, Jan. 27, that it would be seeking an increase of $60 per short ton (st). Nucor […]

Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $760 per short ton (st) on Monday, Jan. 21. The $10/st week-on-week (w/w) rise marks the first increase in the CSP since Nov. 12. According to SMU’s mill price announcement calendar, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker held the weekly price at $750/st for 11 […]

The price spread between US-produced cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore products tightened slightly in the week ended Jan. 24, as imports edged higher than US product. Domestic CR coil tags were up week on week (w/w), a trend mirrored in offshore markets at a slightly sharper clip. The result? The US premium over imports shrank […]

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

With just 10 days to go and nearing the final countdown, we have nearly 550 registered (and counting) so far for the 36th annual Tampa Steel Conference. Join us and hundreds of industry executives at the JW Marriott Tampa Water Street from Sunday, Feb. 2, through Tuesday, Feb. 4. Take a break from the snow […]

US hot band margin over imports on a landed basis has narrowed further.

The latest SMU Community Chat webinar reply is now available on our website to all members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the community tab and look under the “previous webinars” section of the dropdown menu. All past Community Chat webinars are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the webinar replay, or if your company […]