Yesterday (Wednesday, Dec. 2) we hosted one of our SMU Community Chat Webinars. The guest speaker was Josh Spoores, Principal Analyst and editor of the Sheet Monitor for CRU. I thought it was one of the best presentations and discussions we have ever had at one of our webinars. You can see a recording and […]
On Wednesday, December 2nd Steel Market Update will host another in our series of free webinars with CRU Principal Analyst and editor of the CRU Sheet Monitor – Josh Spoores. Packard and Spoores will chat for about 30 minutes on CRU’s steel sheet forecast for 2020-2021. We will discuss demand, production, and steel prices with […]
On Wednesday, Dec. 2, Steel Market Update will host another in our series of free webinars featuring CRU Principal Analyst and Editor of the CRU Sheet Monitor – Josh Spoores. Spoores and SMU President and Publisher John Packard will chat for about 30 minutes on CRU’s steel sheet forecast for 2020-2021. We will discuss demand, […]
It is Tuesday, Dec, 1, 2020, and the U.S. has just returned from Thanksgiving. I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend and did what was necessary to remain safe as we wait for the COVID-19 vaccines to be distributed around the world. There is a light at the end of this long journey we have […]
“Market’s great if you have supply.” I was speaking with a service center this afternoon who told me on Monday of this week they were selling spot hot rolled out of inventory at $840 per ton. Then Nucor raised their spot HRC number for February to $840 per ton. Today, all items through this service […]
“Market’s great if you have supply.” I was speaking with a service center this afternoon who told me on Monday of this week they were selling spot hot rolled out of inventory at $840 per ton. Then Nucor raised their spot HRC number for February to $840 per ton. Today, all items through this service […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that steel imports have become more enticing to U.S. buyers than in previous months, according to the latest SMU and CRU price indices. In our previous update in early November, U.S. producers had lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East […]
The Tampa Steel Conference will be held virtually on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. This will be the 32nd year for the conference and, even though we cannot be in Tampa in person, SMU along with our partner Port Tampa Bay are putting together a great lineup of speakers. Here are some of the speakers already confirmed: […]
The Tampa Steel Conference will be held virtually on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. This will be the 32nd year for the conference and, even though we cannot be in Tampa in person, SMU along with our partner Port Tampa Bay are putting together a great lineup of speakers. Here are some of the speakers already confirmed: […]
Flat Rolled = 43.1 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 45.9 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled Service center flat roll inventories fell to a new low in October, amid extending mill lead times and shipment delays. Service centers carried 43.1 shipping days of supply at the end of October, which is a 3.8 percent […]
The Perfect Storm: Long lead times, late deliveries, low service center inventories, strong demand, higher prices, lack of foreign steel imports, mill outages both planned and unplanned, maximum capacity utilization rates at a number of mills, NLMK USA strike, higher ferrous scrap prices that are expected to go much higher in the coming months, restrictions […]
You may be thinking about participating in one of our upcoming Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals Workshops, but wonder what it’s like to learn virtually. If you have school age kids, you already know that so many of us have adapted to online learning. Here at SMU, we’ve had to pivot from our live and in […]
Flat rolled steel buyers are feeling a little skittish. Based on the results of last week’s flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis conducted by Steel Market Update, the threat of higher prices, late mill deliveries and fear of a possible steel shortage situation are making steel buyers nervous (see article above with survey […]
The SMU Steel Price Momentum Indicators on all flat rolled and plate steel products are currently pointing toward higher prices over the next 30 days. We expect hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and steel plate pricing to increase during the coming weeks. The two major reasons for our position are the limitations of supply […]
Port Tampa Bay and Steel Market Update announce a new partnership to present the first virtual edition for the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference, to be held on Feb. 2, 2021. The Tampa Steel Conference is one of the nation’s oldest and largest steel conferences. As the movement of iron and steel products is extremely […]
Port Tampa Bay and Steel Market Update announce a new partnership to present the first virtual edition for the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference, to be held on Feb. 2, 2021. The Tampa Steel Conference is one of the nation’s oldest and largest steel conferences. As the movement of iron and steel products is extremely […]
Pathway to Low CO2: Insight into How the Steel Industry Can Decarbonize Join the next sessions in CRU’s emissions series at 9 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Reducing emissions is among the top priorities of organizations around the world and presents special challenges and opportunities for the steel industry. CRU analysts will answer such […]
I am hearing negotiations on 2021 flat rolled contracts are quite contentious. OEM buyers are telling me the domestic mills are so aggressive with their pricing offers that buyers are having to look for alternative suppliers. As one manufacturing buyer put it to me yesterday, “[The steel mills are] effectively asking us to review other […]
My “final thoughts” provide me an opportunity to give my opinions on a wide range of topics. Some are directly steel related and some are not. The question we are all asking ourselves today is what will a Biden administration mean for business? Here are some thoughts I picked up from my reading over the […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that steel imports have become more enticing to U.S. buyers than in previous weeks. U.S producers appear to have lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East Asia, according to the latest SMU and CRU price indices. The price differentials between […]
By CRU China CEO John Johnson and Economist Yingrui Wang 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. China’s Five-Year Plan (FYP) is a key guide to the strategic direction of China. In this Insight we explain the significance […]
By CRU Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Long Products Monitor Most long product prices around the world increased this month as the recovery in demand continues. For some markets and products, the increase in supply has been outpaced by demand. Wire rod remains the strongest product right now as the increase in construction activity […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Lack of supply and higher demand is causing sheet prices to diverge further from plate across regions, with U.S. sheet prices reaching their highest level since April 2019 this week. New lockdown announcements have not had an impact on the European market at this point, […]
BY CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices edged up for the second consecutive week as Chinese domestic steel prices rallied and the seaborne iron ore supply weakened. On Tuesday, Nov. 10, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $122.0 /dmt, $4.5 /dmt higher w/w. Chinese domestic […]
By Principal Consultant Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor North American sheet prices have continued to surge after bottoming this past August. For HR coil, prices have been assessed at $712 /s.ton. Since Aug. 12, these prices have gained $237 /s.ton, or 63%. This is the fastest percent gain over three months in […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) increased by 1.5% m/m in November to 229.0. The increase in scrap prices in most regions has been driven by a continued recovery in steel prices and demand. Moving into December, we expect higher steel pricing and demand […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The global sheet market has seen a few key trends emerge across a variety of regions. First, demand has continued to rise from the pandemic-related lows recorded earlier this year. While sheet demand continues to be driven by sequential increases in automotive demand, […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Strong underlying demand continues to provide substantial support to finished steel prices in the USA. Sheet prices have risen at their quickest pace since CRU started tracking them and, while there was little change m/m for long products, mills have […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Strong underlying demand continues to provide substantial support to finished steel prices in the USA. Sheet prices have risen at their quickest pace since CRU started tracking them and, while there was little change m/m for long products, mills have […]
By CRU Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The U.S. market is at a unique point where steel buyers could be convinced to buy imports because of extreme supply tightness. With about 7Mt of blast furnace capacity remaining idled in the U.S. and Canada, sheet mills in operation are effectively running at […]