Contributor: Michael Cowden

I want to address a few things in this 'Final thoughts': the latest SMU survey results, the plate market, and the potential sale of U.S. Steel.

Sheet prices continued to move higher this week on the heels of mill price hikes and extending lead times.

Nucor aims to increase base prices on all new sheet orders, effective immediately. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker seeks at least $1,100 per ton ($55 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil (HRC), according to a Monday letter to customers.

Flat-rolled steel prices were in a holding pattern ahead of Thanksgiving.

Steel Market Update will be taking time off in observance of Thanksgiving. Our offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 23–24. We will not publish an issue on Thursday, Nov. 23, or on Sunday, Nov. 26.

Algoma is an important Canadian flat-rolled steel producer. It is also a significant supplier to the US market. We’ll discuss current dynamics in the North American sheet and plate markets – as well as some of the particulars of the Canadian market.

There has been almost an assumption that US mills would get the $950-1,000 per ton ($47.50-50 per cwt) they were seeking on HR base and $1,150-2,000 per ton ($57.50-60 per cwt) for cold-rolled and coated base. Recall that Cliffs initially announced an increase and said it was seeking $1,000 per minimum for hot-rolled coil. Nucor […]

United Auto Workers (UAW) union members at Ford and Stellantis have joined their compatriots at General Motors in voting to ratify new labor contracts. That’s according to vote tallies posted by the union. The count was lopsided in favor of the new deal at Ford (69% of votes for ratification) and Stellantis (70% of votes […]

United Auto Workers (UAW) members have ratified a new labor contract with Detroit-based General Motors, the largest US automaker. In other words, the UAW strike that began on Sept. 15 - and that rattled the steel industry in the months leading up to it - is almost in the rear-view mirror.

Algoma Steel CEO Michael Garcia will be the featured speaker on SMU’s Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 11 am ET. You can register here.

Sheet prices are up again. That shouldn’t come as a surprise on the heels of mill price hikes, scrap settling up and expected to move higher over the next few months, and inventories – as our premium subscribers will learn tomorrow – moving lower for a third month.

Spot prices for steel sheet shot upward again this week on the heels of steep price increases announced by domestic mills last week. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price rose to $940 per ton ($47 per cwt) on average, up $75 per ton from last week and up nearly $300 per ton from a 2023 low of […]

Cleveland-Cliffs announced it would seek a minimum base price of $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil (HRC) on Nov. 7. Nucor said a day later that it was aiming for $950 per ton. Why didn’t Nucor follow Cliffs up to $1,000 ton? I think there might be some possible answers in our […]

There seems to be a consensus that US sheet prices have nowhere to go but up in the short term, in part because offshore material ordered now won’t arrive until late March or even April.

Center for Automotive Research (CAR) president and CEO Alan Amici will be the featured speaker on Steel Market Update’s next Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 12 p.m. ET. You can register here.

U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works in western Pennsylvania has not resumed full production of cold-rolled coil (CRC) following an outage last month, a company spokeswoman confirmed.

Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Stelco recorded a drop in third quarter profits on lower steel prices and sales volumes. The Hamilton, Ontario-based company predicted that volumes would be lower still in the fourth quarter. But it also said that financial results would improve next year on higher prices and longer lead times.

It was sort of like the UAW strike. It started out small. Then got big fast. Below is a timeline of the steelmakers’ target HRC prices since the spot market bottomed out in late September.

Spot prices for steel sheet continued to shoot upward this week, which brought yet another round of price hikes.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said on Tuesday that it had raised minimum base prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) to $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt).

You could make a case that Nov. 1 was April Fool’s Day for steel – or at least for the widespread rumor that Cliffs would announce a $10-billion deal for U.S. Steel on that date. I’m not going to endorse any precise date or price tag. But I’d be surprised if a deal – or […]

There was consensus that steel prices would crash on the UAW strike and then rebound just as sharply once the union and the “Big Three” automakers reached tentative deals.

SMU will host a Community Chat on Wednesday Nov. 15 at 12 pm ET with Alan Amici, president and CEO of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). The webinar is free for all to attend live. A recording will be available to SMU subscribers. You can register here.

Sheet prices are getting back into very lofty territory. That’s assuming you can find spot tons available for the balance of 2023 – and some of you say you can’t.

Sheet prices surged this week on limited spot tonnage and on the heels of steep price increases announced by domestic mills.

Cleveland-Cliffs said Tuesday that it would increase spot market base prices for carbon hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated steel sheet.

Nucor’s plate mill group (NPG) will cut prices for as-rolled discrete plate and normalized plate by $140 per ton ($7 per cwt). The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said it would also drop prices for quenched-and-tempered plate by $80 per ton. Nucor said the lower prices would be effective with new orders received on Wednesday, Oct. 31. […]

SSAB reported lower earnings in the third quarter on weaker demand in Europe that was only partially offset by solid demand for plate in North America.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union on Saturday evening expanded its strike again General Motors.

Stellantis and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced on Saturday that they had reached a tentative labor agreement.