By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg In the past week, iron ore prices continued to decline as demand in China remained weak. Steel prices continued to fall and buying activities have yet to pick up after the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) began its annual two-week meeting on March 5. On Tuesday, March 12, CRU […]
Today, we are rolling out more of our agenda for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The theme behind this year’s conference is “Steel in Transition.” It will provide an important forum for discussion of the key issues affecting all companies that supply or consume flat rolled and plate steels, including the steel mills, trading […]
Today, we are rolling out more of our agenda for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference. The theme behind this year’s conference is “Steel in Transition.” It will provide an important forum for discussion of the key issues affecting all companies that supply or consume flat rolled and plate steels, including the steel mills, trading […]
We live in a time when nothing is as it seems and uncertainty rules the roost. This can make for a daunting task when considering when, what and how much steel you need to purchase at any point in time. It appears the second price increase announcement out of Nucor moved some of the end […]
We live in a time when nothing is as it seems and uncertainty rules the roost. This can make for a daunting task when considering when, what and how much steel you need to purchase at any point in time. It appears the second price increase announcement out of Nucor moved some of the end […]
As markets transition from one phase to another, the process can sometimes be “messy” until there is a clear direction as momentum shifts. Many steel buyers reported a higher sense of confidence that the market has “turned the corner” and will move higher from here. However, the feelings are not universally shared as some buyers […]
Ferrous scrap prices for March settled up $20/GT, report Steel Market Update sources. “The ferrous market was up $20 across the board without much deviation across the country. That puts Midwest shred at around $355-360 and busheling at $370-380. Export has rebounded this week by about $5-10 from recent sales. The most recent sale to Turkey […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison U.S. economic data for December and January are beginning to come in now that the federal government is funded for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. December housing starts showed a weak end to 2018 as the total of 1.247 million units for 2018 was […]
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to settle around $20/GT higher for March following weakness in January and February, report Steel Market Update sources. “The March domestic market seems to have $20/GT baked into it,” commented one dealer in the Northeast. “Poor inflows due to bad weather and seasonality, along with a stronger export market, are […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain Iron ore prices declined for the second consecutive week as the market awaits the announcement of stimulus measures in China. On Tuesday, Feb. 26, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $84.70 /t, down $1.90 /t w/w. Steel demand has remained weak in China in the past seven […]
In the last month, there has been a positive turnaround of raw materials prices. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through February of the five materials considered in this analysis. It reports the month/month, 3 month/3 month and 12 month/12 month changes and tells us that price movements with the exception of busheling have been […]
By CRU Latin America Analyst Thais Terzian On Jan. 25, one of Vale’s tailing dams located in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, breached. The dam was part of Vale’s Córrego do Feijão mine and its breach tragically caused the death of several hundred people. On Jan. 29, Vale announced the suspension of production at nine mines in its […]
We are pleased to unveil the first look at the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference program. It has taken six months to get the agenda for this year’s conference to this point. It will be six more months of finetuning before we unleash the speakers, the videos, and the music on those who will be […]
We are pleased to unveil the first look at the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference program. It has taken six months to get the agenda for this year’s conference to this point. It will be six more months of finetuning before we unleash the speakers, the videos, and the music on those who will be […]
It’s Oscar night. I will try to keep my final thoughts brief. President Trump has delayed the increase in the Section 301 tariffs against China. The deadline was March 2, 2019. No new deadline has been set. However, President Xi of China will meet with President Trump in Florida in the later part of March. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg During the past week, iron ore prices fell somewhat as weak Chinese demand continued to weigh on the market. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $86.60 /t, down $3.70 /t w/w. Again, the Vale dam accident dominated the talks in the market. Although […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain In the previous edition of CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, we outlined our expectation of falling prices as coke demand would weaken once restocking after the CNY holidays finished. This turned out to be true; coke demand has been low after mills completed their restocking and, as coke production remained […]
I am chomping on the bit as today we managed to book a nationally known and widely recognized speaker who will (I hope) hold everyone in their seats until the end of our SMU Steel Summit Conference. When booking your travel to Atlanta for our conference, you will want to arrive as early Monday morning […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
Olympic Steel reported record sales for the fourth quarter and full-year 2018. The metals service center saw net sales jump 29 percent in 2018 to $1.7 billion on higher year-over-year volume and higher average prices in all three of its report segments. Operating income more than doubled in 2018 to $57.1 million, up from $24.0 […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Erik Hedborg and Andrew Gadd CRU’s research shows that the dam breach in Brazil, as well as the recent fire at Vale’s blending terminal in Malaysia, will have limited impact on the availability of high-grade fines. Iron ore prices of all different grades have increased since the dam breach, but the […]
A strong economy and record profits are stimulating expansion in the U.S. steel industry. Often crediting President Trump for “leveling the playing field” with steel imports, companies like U.S. Steel and Nucor are taking the opportunity to reinvest their windfall in new and upgraded facilities. Adding capacity in a world that is struggling with steel […]
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from the Feb. 13 CRU Steel Sheet Monitor; editing by CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores. In our Steel Sheet Products Monitor last month, we asked if the market was near an inflection point. That report was published on the sixth working day of the year and, at that point, global sheet […]
By Erik Hedborg, CRU Senior Analyst The recent dam breach in Brazil will complicate iron ore pellet premia negotiations and is likely to lead to steel mills eventually accepting sharp premia increases. As a result of the dam breach, Vale has suspended 11 Mt/y of pellet production in the Southern System and the recently revoked operating […]
By CRU Australia Analyst Ryan Smith China has traditionally dominated long product exports to the South East Asia (SEA) region. However, a change in market dynamics has reduced Chinese export volumes and created an opportunity for exporters from further afield. In Turkey, economic challenges, in combination with rising trade barriers such as EU safeguards and […]
By CRU North America Steel Analyst Ryan McKinley Since Section 232 tariffs have come into force, U.S. wire rod prices have increased more than other markets. As a result, domestic PC strand (prestressed concrete steel strand) producers have seen costs increase, inviting more competition from abroad. Higher Prices Affecting Competitiveness Rising U.S. domestic wire rod […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices continued to climb during the week as uncertainty regarding Vale’s supply persists. With weak buying in China due to the holidays, we have seen the market react by pushing the 62% Fe fines price up to $86.00 /t, $7.40 higher w/w. The Vale story continues to […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison The partial U.S. government shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, 2018, lasted 35 days and is the longest shutdown in U.S. history. President Trump decided to re-open the government until Feb. 15 to allow time for additional negotiations regarding the border security issues. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that […]