By CRU Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Chinese prices continued to buck the global trend this week as further government meetings about preventing higher steel prices being passed on to consumers were taken seriously by the market and trading activity reduced. Prices in Europe and the U.S. are still rising, with U.S. plate […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have risen in the past week and are currently trading at close to $220 /dmt. We see little change on the demand side and sources have mentioned that supply uncertainty is the main driver of the recent rally. On Tuesday, June […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The seasonal slowdown in the physical Chinese sheet market is ongoing, with inventories rising and demand falling w/w. However, concerns about limited supply during the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party continue to boost the Chinese HR coil futures market. Prices are still edging […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices fell significantly in China and the Vietnamese import market in the last week and there were also smaller decreases in India. U.S. and European sheet prices continued to rise overall, although European trading activity was slower, and increases were smaller than we […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have continued to rise in the past week as a result of a combination of weaker seaborne supply and rising steel prices following the recent celebrations in China. On Tuesday, July 6, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $222.0 […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have fallen back to $200 /dmt as Chinese demand continues to weaken and the country’s ports have registered the highest level of iron ore inflow since Q1. On Tuesday, July 27, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $200.0 /dmt, […]
Reducing carbon isn’t just something that steel wants to do to be a good corporate citizen, it’s increasingly something that key customers – such as automakers – are demanding. Case in point: German automaker BMW is investing in a CO2-free steel production process developed by Boston Metal, a U.S.-based start-up. Boston Metal has found a way […]
On Wednesday, March 17, Steel Market Update will host John Packard (SMU CEO) and Ryan Smith, Senior Analyst covering global steel costing and decarbonization for CRU. This will be a special program in that Ryan resides in Sydney, Australia, thus the 3:30 p.m. EDST time instead of our usual 11 a.m. start time Ryan Smith […]
In Sunday night’s issue of Steel Market Update, I discussed the increase in the days of inventory on order at the service centers. The increase can be attributed to extended lead times, late deliveries and perhaps some double ordering from the distributors’ end-user customers. We saw an increase in the percentage of inventory that is […]
In Sunday night’s issue of Steel Market Update, I discussed the increase in the days of inventory on order at the service centers. The increase can be attributed to extended lead times, late deliveries and perhaps some double ordering from the distributors’ end-user customers. We saw an increase in the percentage of inventory that is […]
On Wednesday, March 17, Steel Market Update will host John Packard (SMU CEO) and Ryan Smith, Senior Analyst covering global steel costing and decarbonization for CRU. This will be a special program in that Ryan resides in Sydney, Australia, thus the 3:30 p.m. EDST time instead of our usual 11 a.m. start time Ryan Smith […]
On Wednesday, March 17, Steel Market Update will host John Packard (SMU CEO) and Ryan Smith, Senior Analyst covering global steel costing and decarbonization for CRU. This will be a special program in that Ryan resides in Sydney, Australia, thus the 3:30 p.m. EDST time instead of our usual 11 a.m. start time Ryan Smith […]
The United States’ two leading steel industry associations have cheered the Senate confirmation of Michael Regan, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The move comes as the U.S. steel industry increasingly looks to burnish its credentials as a green industry – and as the potential of a carbon-border tax boosts the economic viability […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Ryan Smith and Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The need for virgin iron units in the U.S. market is rising as new electric-arc furnace (EAF) […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 14.4% m/m in March to 354.4, bouncing back above levels seen in January. China’s return to the steel market following New Year holiday celebrations there helped lift steel and scrap prices in Asia, while seasonally constrained […]
I am going to spend some time discussing Steel Market Update this evening. I started SMU in August 2008 as a one-man show. The company has grown over the years both in size and scope. The sale of the company to CRU has turned out to be a blessing (I think for both companies), and […]
Service centers reported lower shipments during the month of February partially due to the harsh winter weather associated with “Snowmageddon.” Steel Market Update’s proprietary service center inventories and shipments report indicated 42.7 days of flat rolled inventories, which is up from 40 days of supply on hand at the end of January. Plate inventories stood […]
Service centers reported lower shipments during the month of February partially due to the harsh winter weather associated with “Snowmageddon.” Steel Market Update’s proprietary service center inventories and shipments report indicated 42.7 days of flat rolled inventories, which is up from 40 days of supply on hand at the end of January. Plate inventories stood […]
On April 21, Steel Market Update will conduct our first Galvanized Steel Hedging Workshop. This half-day workshop will be done through our virtual platform. The main instructor will be Spencer Johnson of StoneX, who will be accompanied by someone from the CME Group and from CRU, which generates the index used by the CME for […]
Last week, we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends analyses. Or, to put it another way (that the search engines don’t like), we conducted one of our surveys that we do ever other week. We invited over 500+ market participants, most of whom are steel buyers in the manufacturing and […]
A couple weeks back we were beginning to think the rise in spot prices would soon slow and we were close to a tipping point. We no longer have that opinion due to Snowmageddon, the winter storm that exacerbated the already late deliveries out of multiple steel mills. On top of that, we are seeing […]
Obsolete scrap prices are widely expected to decline in April, while prime scrap prices move sideways, predict Steel Market Update sources. Ferrous scrap prices saw a big jump in March, adding to the upward momentum on finished steel prices, but the April effect is shaping up to be more moderate. “Growing obsolete scrap availability caused […]
Last week, we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends analyses. Or, to put it another way (that the search engines don’t like), we conducted one of our surveys that we do ever other week. We invited over 500+ market participants, most of whom are steel buyers in the manufacturing and […]
Foreign hot rolled steel imports continue to tempt U.S. buyers as domestic prices soar, offering potential discounts of 10% or more, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. Foreign HRC prices are theoretically $154-$323 per ton cheaper than domestic steel prices at this time. Recall that domestic mills […]
Registrations for the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference have topped 200 and counting. We continue to work toward having a live in-person conference in Atlanta on Aug. 23-25. We are heartened to hear President Biden speak to having enough vaccine to inoculate the entire U.S. population by the end of May. If true, that gives […]
Registrations for the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference have topped 200 and counting. We continue to work toward having a live in-person conference in Atlanta on Aug. 23-25. We are heartened to hear President Biden speak to having enough vaccine to inoculate the entire U.S. population by the end of May. If true, that gives […]
You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees Mill lead times have surged over the past couple of weeks, which I believe is a result of Snowmageddon in Texas and other areas of the Southeast. When you look at our lead time graphics, you need to remember we are gathering data from our flat rolled […]
Tomorrow (Wednesday), we will host one of our SMU Community Chat Webinars with Rick Preckel of Preston Pipe and Michael Cowden of SMU. The two will discuss the energy segment and how higher oil prices will impact oil well drilling, use of line pipe and other OCTG products, and how quickly we may see demand […]
John Packard founded Steel Market Update in 2008 after spending 31 years actively selling steel in the service center, steel mill and trading company segments of the industry. He is currently President & CEO of Steel Market Update which was sold to CRU in 2018. Steel Market Update is a leader in collection of market […]
Mark your calendars as Steel Market Update has a wide array of conferences and workshops scheduled through the month of August 2021. Here is what you can expect: March 30 & 31: Steel Hedging 101: Introduction to Managing Price Risk (virtual) At the end of this month, Spencer Johnson of StoneX, the CME Group and […]