By the end of August SMU had adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral, SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index averaged +40 which is higher than the average from June and July and well within the optimistic range of our Index. Benchmark hot rolled prices moved essentially sideways as the numbers show below. […]
Written by: John Packard June apparent steel supply came in at 8,728,000 tons which was a 3.75 percent decline compared to the previous year. As you can see by the graphic below, all of the categories came in below June 2012 data. Year to date 2013 is on pace with 2012 averaging 7,900,000 tons […]
Domestic mill shipments declined in January 2013 compared to the same month one year earlier. Shipments fell by 3.38 percent. Imports also declined in January 2013 versus January 2012 by 7 percent, led by a 22 percent drop in semi-finished (slabs, billets). Exports during the month of January were 14.64 percent lower than last year. […]
Apparent steel supply for the month of December 2012 came in at 8,317,920 net tons. This represents a decrease of almost 2 percent compared to the previous December. We found imports rose by 19 percent (semi-finished – which are brought in by the domestic mills – rose by 39 percent) while exports dropped by 19 […]
November apparent steel supply grew by 8 percent year-over-year to 8,468,720 tons. Imports were up by 28 percent (semi-finished being a major piece up 41.57 percent) while exports shrunk by almost 19 percent to just under 1,000,000 tons (998,040 tons). The United States increased its imbalance as a net importer (YOY) has grown apparent steel […]