Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this week. There was no clear-cut direction being set, although the expectation is for prices to rise once lead times go into January. For that matter, we did hear from some steel buyers who placed December HRC orders for $600 per ton and at the same time placed January […]
A couple of weeks ago, ArcelorMittal USA announced price increases taking flat rolled steel base prices on hot rolled to $625 per ton and $41.25/cwt base on cold rolled and galvanized. We have yet to see spot prices out of the domestic steel mills reach the prices suggested by AMUSA. The rest of the industry […]
On Monday, SSAB sent a letter to customers advising of the company’s intention to raise spot transaction prices by a minimum of $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) effective immediately. The increase covers all “…As-Rolled Mill Plate, Cut-to-Length Plate >72”, Hot Rolled Coils >72”, as well as Normalized and Quenched & Tempered Plate.” SSAB also advised that […]
ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor will get a $100 million upgrade over the next year. The investment is part of $276 million in capital spending the steelmaker plans for it U.S. operations next year. Work is set to begin on Indiana Harbor’s continuous anneal line, No. 2 coating line and cold mill complex, said Indiana Harbor General […]
According to the buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel, the domestic steel mills are willing to negotiate spot steel prices. The percentages of those reporting the mills as willing to negotiate has shrunk, but continues to be well above 50 percent. This is a bit of a surprise considering the price announcements made in […]
We have been watching the market very carefully looking for signs of a complete change in momentum, which would spur prices to move higher over time. We are finding hot rolled and cold rolled prices strengthening at the lower end of the range, and there have been some adjustments to coated products on a weekly […]
ArcelorMittal is helping to keep Cleveland neighborhoods safe by melting down unwanted guns. The steelmaker provided funding, and a hot furnace, to the Cleveland Police Foundation’s 11th Annual City of Cleveland Gun Buyback event Oct. 21. Citizens received $100 gift cards from True-North-Shell, Target, and Dave’s Supermarket in exchange for turning in their unwanted guns. […]
ArcelorMittal kicked has off its second annual “Steel Spirit Sweepstakes” contest, giving its USA employees, customers, neighbors, steel enthusiasts and Big Ten sports fans the chance to watch the Big Ten Football Championship Game from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Dec. 2, 2017. The contest is open to all U.S. residents, ages 18 and […]
It has only been one week since ArcelorMittal USA increased flat rolled steel prices. As the week progressed, it became obvious that steel mills were reacting to the price announcements in different ways. We heard from steel buyers that some mills withdrew open quoted pricing and repriced at new levels at least $40 per ton […]
Last week, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted one of our flat rolled steel market trends analyses, sending invitations to 655 executives associated with the manufacturing, steel distribution, steel mills, trading companies and toll processor segments of the industry. The majority of respondents completed the questionnaire prior to the ArcelorMittal USA price increase announcement. One of […]
Wholesaler/distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market are waiting anxiously to see what happens to prices in the coming weeks. In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members asked two key questions: Will the mills be able to collect the flat roll […]
Many of the domestic steel mills raised prices on Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week. ArcelorMittal USA lead the way by announcing specific “minimum” base prices on hot rolled ($625 per ton), and cold rolled and galvanized steels ($825 per ton each). The other mills all announced $40 per ton price increases (which to […]
ArcelorMittal is showing interest in buying the bankrupt India mill Bhushan Steel. Bhushan has a strong presence in the automotive steel market and has a production capacity of 5.6 million metric tons annually. Its debt is estimated at about $6.9 billion. Acquisition of Bhushan would give ArcelorMittal a foothold in India’s auto-grade steel market, which […]
On Tuesday of this week, ArcelorMittal USA announced new “minimum” base pricing on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products. On Wednesday, Nucor and North Star BlueScope followed with increase announcements of their own of $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt). This morning (Thursday), NLMK USA emailed a letter to their customers advising of their intention to […]
The Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index market cycle appears to have bottomed as buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel were slightly more optimistic than what we collected at the beginning of the month. We measured the single data point for those responding to our flat rolled steel market trends questionnaire this […]
On Monday of this week, Steel Market Update began collecting data for our mid-October flat rolled steel market trends analysis. We invited over 600 companies to participate in our questionnaire. The vast majority of the respondents are either service centers or manufacturing companies. Based on the data collected we found that prior to any of […]
Late this afternoon, the Nucor Sheet Group sent a written note to customers advising them of a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) price increase on spot orders of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel. This follows the announcement by ArcelorMittal USA yesterday, taking spot base prices to $625 per ton on hot rolled and $825 […]
ArcelorMittal USA began advising their customers late this evening of their intention to raise flat rolled steel base prices. In an internal memo sent to the ArcelorMittal commercial team the mill advised, “All new opportunities for hot rolled, cold rolled and coated sheet products that require delivery in the 4th Quarter of 2017 should be […]
ArcelorMittal USA began advising their customers late on Tuesday (October 17, 2017) of their intention to raise flat rolled steel base prices. In an internal memo sent to the ArcelorMittal commercial team the mill advised, “All new opportunities for hot rolled, cold rolled and coated sheet products that require delivery in the 4th Quarter of […]
Flat rolled steel prices continued their slow slog south (prices are moving lower). The pace has not accelerated, but there are questions as to whether some of the mills are cutting “quiet” deals in order to fill their fourth-quarter order book without giving the steel away. One service center put it to us this way: […]
Prior to the ArcelorMittal USA price increase announcement, Steel Market Update analysis of steel prices found flat rolled steel prices continuing their slow slog south (prices are moving lower). The pace has not accelerated, but there are questions as to whether some of the steel mills are cutting “quiet” deals in order to fill their […]
As the afternoon turned into evening, I began hearing rumors that a flat rolled price increase would be announced “soon.” I heard from a service center who was texting us from his car (a definite no-no) telling SMU that a yet to be named (by us) mill was moving prices. We are still waiting for […]
Zinc prices continue their rally that began in early 2016, taking the metal’s price to a 10-year high and raising the cost of producing galvanized steel and other products. Zinc prices have managed to breach the psychological ceiling of $3,000 per metric ton, which stalled rallies in November 2016 and February 2017. Breaking this ceiling […]
Some key price levels have been left in the dust when it comes to flat rolled and plate prices. On Friday of this past week, Steel Market Update (SMU) reduced the lower end of the range on hot rolled and our average dropped below $600 per ton. This week our HRC took a hit on […]
ArcelorMittal reports that a portion of its mill in Calvert, Ala., suffered minor damage over the weekend due to a small, localized tornado related to Hurricane Nate. The company halted production on Friday night for safety reasons, but resumed operations Sunday afternoon. No injuries were reported, and there was no damage to production lines or […]
ArcelorMittal reports that a portion of its mill in Calvert, Ala., suffered minor damage over the weekend due to a small, localized tornado related to Hurricane Nate. The company halted production on Friday night for safety reasons, but resumed operations Sunday afternoon. No injuries were reported, and there was no damage to production lines or […]
This evening I received a note from a reliable source advising me that AM/NS Calvert had been hit by a tornado associated with Hurricane Nate on Saturday. The information provided noted there was damage to the administration building, a storage building and some power lines on the property. There was no mention of any injuries. […]
In an effort to keep our readers as up to date as possible, we are adding some information to the steel mill maintenance schedule that we originally produced last week. The table did not change, but we did receive information from ArcelorMittal that we wanted to pass along. We received the following details regarding maintenance […]
Flat rolled steel prices continue to “drift,” with some items drifting lower, some staying the same and cold rolled actually increasing by $5 per ton. One commercial officer at a steel mill told SMU that in his view the range has shrunk for the products they produce. Even so, “We are finding business, and it […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator is now at “lower,” meaning flat rolled steel spot prices are expected to move lower over the next 30 to 60 days. Steel prices have begun to retreat with benchmark hot rolled beginning the month at $630 per ton ($31.50/cwt) and ending the month down $20 to $610 per ton ($30.50/cwt). […]