Tag: demand

SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices both fell during the week of Dec. 6, based on our most recent survey data.

The percentage of steel buyers saying mills were willing to budge on spot pricing has risen for all sheet products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.

Movements in lead times were mixed in SMU’s check of the market this week – a reflection of the seasonal dip in ordering that is typically seen during the winter holiday season.

A large Detroit-area scrap buyer entered the market on Wednesday at significantly higher prices than a month earlier.

Steel prices continued to rally last month on the back of repeated mill price increases after tags reached a 2023 low of $645 per ton in late September. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended November at an average of $923 per ton ($46.15 per cwt), rising by $140 per ton during the month. The SMU Price […]

Activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted once again in November.

A coalition of manufacturers, retailers, and stakeholders stands opposed to the imposition of import duties on tin mill products.

It’s no surprise why spot prices are on the rise: Mills have been announcing higher flat-rolled tags for the better part of the past three months, according to our steel mill price increase calendar. A leading cause of the $305-per-ton rally since prices reached a recent bottom of $645 per ton in late September has […]

CRU analysts share an update on the aluminm markets.

The export market for ferrous scrap has been strengthening over the last month by a sizable margin.

In its Beige Book report released on Nov. 29, the Federal Reserve noted slower economic activity since October's report.

Algoma Steel’s CEO Michael Garcia joined SMU Managing Editor Michael Cowden for a Community Chat on Wednesday, Nov. 29. A great discussion was had on topics ranging from plate pricing to decarbonization efforts, raw materials strategies, and more.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand, inventories, imports, and what people were talking about in the market.

Sector fundamentals for US steel companies remain solid overall, according to ratings agency Fitch’s 2024 outlook report.

US scrap prices are expected to rise in December, industry sources told SMU.

I want to address a few things in this 'Final thoughts': the latest SMU survey results, the plate market, and the potential sale of U.S. Steel.

SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices have both increased, based on our most recent survey data as of Wednesday, Nov. 22.

U.S. Steel said it has indefinitely idled steelmaking at its Granite City Works in southern Illinois near St. Louis.

Galvanized steel buyers reported a seller's market with steady demand, long lead times, and strong pricing on this month’s call of the Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) association.

US housing starts crept higher for a second consecutive month in October. Starts were lower, however than the same month last year, according to the most recent data from the US Census Bureau.

Turkish scrap import prices increased for a third consecutive week.

Surging US sheet prices and expanding lead times are making imports more attractive. The automotive workers’ strike is essentially over, and domestic US sheet prices have rocketed higher alongside lead times. There is little to suggest that the momentum of these price increases will slow over the next month or two, and thus imports have […]

The US plate market has been rather quiet over the past couple of weeks since Nucor Corp. caught many off guard with a $140-per-ton price cut.

The iron ore price has been rising from the $118 /dry metric ton (DMT) level seen in the last edition, initially due to greater optimism in China after the government’s RMB 1 trillion fiscal stimulus announcement. The price has gotten some extra support from concerns over supply, though the current price level is not backed by […]

In the dynamic landscape of the steel futures market, a confluence of factors is shaping the current narrative.

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index has moved into growth territory after seeing steady improvement since mid-September, according to our latest survey data.

Flat Rolled = 52.6 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 61.8 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel inventories decreased for a third consecutive month in October. At the end of October, service centers carried 52.6 shipping days of supply, according to adjusted SMU data. This is down from 53.3 shipping […]

Domestic scrap prices rose in November month over month for all grades that SMU covers, market sources said.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced it would seek a minimum base price of $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil (HRC) on Nov. 7. Nucor said a day later that it was aiming for $950 per ton. Why didn’t Nucor follow Cliffs up to $1,000 ton? I think there might be some possible answers in our […]

US steel imports continue to arrive at a steady pace, as total import licenses in October were about even with September’s import levels.