The global Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in sharply falling steel demand all over the world. For the steel industry, it is a challenging task to reduce production levels as ~70 percent of global output is produced through the BF/BOF, or integrated steelmaking, process route. Blast furnaces (BFs) suffer from low operational flexibility—they cannot typically be […]
Automakers are facing numerous challenges as they prepare to reopen manufacturing impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Already facing lower sales this year, the pandemic has shut down vehicle production and dealer sales, disrupted supply chains and drained finances for U.S. vehicle manufacturers, with troubling implications for their steel suppliers. Bernard Swiecki, senior automotive analyst at […]
April 21, 2020 Dear Steel Market Update “Member”, Your business is important to Steel Market Update and our parent company The CRU Group. We know difficult times may lie ahead and we are here to support your business in any way we can. Steel Market Update began operations in August 2008. By the end of […]
“You don’t want to waste a good crisis” (also seen as, “Never waste a serious crisis”). “In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.” Dave Hollis Just about every business in North America, if not around the world, is dealing with the […]
Phil Raimondo, President & CEO of Behlen Manufacturing in Columbus, Neb., counts his state lucky for having less than a 1,000 people test positive for COVID-19. “Sometimes, with our businesses, we are frustrated with being a fly-over state, but with this virus, we are happy to be a fly-over state,” said Raimondo. Nebraska is one […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices continue to remain advantageous over foreign imports, even further so than two weeks ago, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price gap between domestic HRC compared to German and Italian products has widened significantly over the past few weeks, […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor As the Chinese market gradually emerges from its Covid-19 lockdown and businesses and individuals start to return to normal, acute outbreaks of the virus across the world mean that many countries are still operating under severe restrictions. Even as China attempts to reinvigorate domestic demand, […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook Despite some volatility driven by divergent signs related to supply and demand expectations, iron ore prices were flat w/w. On Tuesday, April 21, the 62% Fe fines price was assessed at $86.0 /t. Last week, Chinese steel demand was robust as the country […]
On Wednesday, April 15 Steel Market Update hosted our weekly SMU Community Chat Webinar with Phil Raimondo of Behlen Manufacturing and John Packard, President & CEO of Steel Market Update. We had a minor technical glitch which got us out of the gates around 11:10 (our mistake as we learn how to use the Zoom […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The iron ore price rose by $3.0 /dmt in the past week, driven primarily by optimism in the Chinese market, where both rebar and HRC jumped sharply from the bottom. On Tuesday, April 14, the 62% Fe fines price has been assessed at […]
2020 is NOT 2008 all over again… I vividly remember 2008 and what happened to the steel industry beginning in September of that year. Why? Because Steel Market Update began as a company in August 2008 and I was scrambling to get members, while at the same time reporting on the destruction of demand and […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) will be updated following the conclusion of trade in the U.S. However, we expect the indicator to move substantially lower following price decreases across every market we track. Metallics prices in nearly every market came under substantial pressure in […]
With much of U.S. manufacturing on hold to control the spread of the coronavirus, it’s no surprise that steel production and demand for scrap are substantially lower than last month. Ferrous scrap prices are generally trading down $50 per ton for obsolete grades and $30 per ton for prime grades in April, reported Steel Market […]
It’s hard to see the forest through the trees…. SMU hosted our first SMU Community Chat Webinar yesterday (Wednesday). There were a couple of glitches – all my fault. I turned off the video recording and was not able to get it back, so no recording of yesterday’s webinar. Josh Spoores (guest speaker from CRU) […]
John Packard of Steel Market Update and Josh Spoores, Principal Analyst and Editor of the Steel Sheet Monitor for CRU, are hosting a webinar tomorrow. Spoores will discuss the CRU steel forecast for 2020-2021, if mill reductions are enough to adjust to forecast demand and, if time permits, maybe a few comments on the HRC […]
John Packard of Steel Market Update and Josh Spoores, Principal Analyst and Editor of the Steel Sheet Monitor for CRU, are hosting a webinar tomorrow. Spoores will discuss the CRU steel forecast for 2020-2021, if mill reductions are enough to adjust to forecast demand and, if time permits, maybe a few comments on the HRC […]
By CRU Analyst Iris Speelmanns, from CRU’s Steel Monitor As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads across the world, its effects on the steel industry are growing. In this weekly report, we will be closely monitoring developments in the steel industry with a focus on disrupted hot metal production and capacity utilization and these will feed into […]
By CRU Senior Cost Analyst Ross Cunningham, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Covid-19 has spread across the world at alarming rates. As of March 28, the pandemic has reached 177 countries and shows little sign of letting up. When fighting a global health and economic crisis unlike anything ever seen before, there will be no winners—only […]
What is accurate today will not be tomorrow. Just last week I was writing about the cancellation rumors at the domestic mills as perhaps being a bit overblown. As we collected pricing data for tonight’s flat rolled and plate index, we also asked our data providers to comment on whether they were pushing out and/or […]
On Wednesday, April 8, SMU will host our first SMU Community Chat webinar. The webinar will be hosted by SMU President & CEO John Packard and will feature Josh Spoores, CRU Principal Analyst and Editor of the CRU Steel Sheet Monitor. Packard and Spoores will chat for about 30 minutes on CRU’s just released steel […]
Steel buyers surveyed by Steel Market Update this week report that demand is plunging and they expect steel prices to continue declining right along with it for at least the next 30 days. The majority believe that efforts by the mills to cut production and match supply with demand will not be enough to establish […]
CRU is forecasting that North American steel sheet prices will find a bottom sometime this summer, but will remain volatile while supply and demand gradually rebalance as the coronavirus crisis subsides. CRU projects steel consumption will decline by 22 percent this year as a result of virus-related shutdowns in automotive and other key manufacturing industries. […]
The global impact of Covid-19 has been profound. Lockdowns of countries and regions are now the norm. Uncertainty about the ultimate economic cost of this health crisis has fuelled financial market volatility and prompted unprecedented government support. CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen joins Doug Hilderhoff, principal analyst for aluminium, and Josh Spoores, principal analyst for […]
There is going to be a rush of bad news flooding televised and online media. Here at Steel Market Update, we and our parent company The CRU Group will do everything we can to keep readers advised with the most accurate and timely information possible. This is one of the reasons we are beginning our […]
The latest SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices continue to remain advantageous over foreign imports, according to SMU and CRU indices released earlier this week. The price gap between domestic HRC compared to German and Italian products has widened to over $100 per ton since our previous price […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from the CRU Steel Monitor As expected, sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market have fallen. Prices today, reflective of transactions booked last week, fell by $13-26 /s.ton w/w. For all sheet prices, we continue to hear of lower priced offers and expect that transaction prices will continue to […]
Zooming – sounds like a new drug, doesn’t it? We will be hosting another SMU Community Chat Webinar on Wednesday, April 22, at 11:00 a.m. ET (and I promise to hit the “start” button on time this week). Speaking with me will be Bernard Swiecki of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR). We will discuss […]
By CRU Credit Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Last week iron ore prices increased, supported by news of mining bans in Canada and South Africa before being pulled down due to the worsening global demand outlook after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic led governments around the world to adopt […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook Overview March 2020 The global impact of Covid-19 has been profound. Lockdowns of countries and regions are now the norm. Uncertainty about the “end game” has fueled financial market volatility and prompted unprecedented government support. CRU is now forecasting a global recession in 2020; […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor In the U.S. Midwest market, sheet prices were split this week. The price of HR coil fell $21 /s.ton to $561 /s.ton while CR and HDG coil prices fell by only $1-$3 /s.ton to $770 and $747 /s.ton, respectively. The spread between HDG coil and […]