The market is watching anxiously for a sign that rising lead times have finally turned and will begin to shorten as mill production catches up with demand. Indeed, Steel Market Update data shows a slight dip in the average lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel products this week. But the same has […]
As it turns out, the slight downturn seen in steel mill lead times last month was not the beginning of a trend change. Lead times for all products but plate have inched higher in the last two weeks, indicating no relief yet from the tight supplies that continue to push steel prices higher. According to […]
If you’re seeking a peak, keep looking. Because it wasn’t this week. Steel Market Update found that spot prices for most sheet and plate products were again higher – despite scattered reports of increased availability for some contract buyers. SMU’s benchmark hot-rolled coil prices stands $1,760 per ton ($88/cwt), up $40 per ton from last […]
As a co-founder of Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Mark Millett has had a front row seat to the dramatic changes the steel industry has staged over the past three decades. Actually, he has played a leading role in many of those changes and continues to choreograph the latest act in steel’s story with the imminent […]
Hot-rolled coil prices have broken through the $1,700 per ton ($85 per cwt) threshold and now average $1,720 per ton. That’s up $45 per ton from a week ago and closing in on quadruple a 2020 low – reached last August – of $440 per ton. The latest gains come after Steel Market Update’s sentiment […]
Flat rolled and plate steel mill lead times continue to extend, according to the results of this week’s flat rolled and plate steel analysis conducted by Steel Market Update. Hot rolled lead times have sustained 10 weeks or more for a month – the first time that has happened in the history of our records, […]
Steel buyers reported to Steel Market Update this week that the trend for steel mills to limit or totally remove any negotiations on spot steel prices continues. Steel pricing power is totally in the hands of the steel mills as supply continues to be less than the demand for mill products. Steel Market Update went […]
Hot-rolled coil prices charged higher yet again even as lead times stretched into August, a typically slower time of the year. Is a year-long hot streak for sheet possible? The answer in ordinary times would be ‘no’. But these are not ordinary times. Hot-rolled coil prices have hit a new all-time high of $1,675 per […]
Hot rolled steel prices passed another milestone this week, topping the $1,600 mark to set yet another record that would have been unimaginable at this time last year when HR was selling for around $500 a ton. Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market shows an average HR price of $1,620 per ton, up […]
Hot rolled steel prices passed another milestone this week, topping the $1,600 mark to set yet another record that would have been unimaginable at this time last year when HR was selling for around $500 a ton. Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market shows an average HR price of $1,620 per ton, up […]
Prices for all of the steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased from April to May, with most products following large gains seen in previous months. Over the last 30 days, pig iron and coking coal prices have increased 17-19%, respectively. In that same period, prices increased for iron ore 9%, zinc 6%, scrap 5% and […]
Except for a notable decline in the average Galvalume lead time, delivery times for spot orders of flat rolled and plate from the mills registered only small ups and downs in the data from Steel Market Update’s survey this week. Generally speaking, lead times remain two to three times longer than the historical averages and […]
Hot-rolled coil prices continue their unrelenting march upward. Steel Market Update’s benchmark hot-rolled coil price now stands at $1,590 per ton ($79.50/cwt), up $20 per ton from a week ago and up $180 per ton versus last month. Lead times remain extended at eight to 12 weeks. And SMU’s Price Momentum Indicator continues to point […]
Steel Market Update spot prices on flat rolled moved higher today and our Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward higher prices on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate steel over the next 30 days. However, having said that, we spent a good portion of today in conversation with steel buyers around the […]
Friedman Industries, a manufacturer and processor of steel products, will add a new facility on the Steel Dynamics Sinton, Texas, flat roll steel mill campus. Friedman plans to build a 70,000-square-foot building on 25 acres leased from SDI under a 99-year agreement. Red Bud Industries has been selected to install stretcher leveler cut-to-length lines capable […]
Ah, remember the good old days… In this month’s galvanized steel conference call with HARDI wholesalers, one of the manufacturing companies discussed the frustrations of buying foreign steel, issues with late deliveries and then difficulties moving the steel from the port to his manufacturing facilities. Traders expressed frustrations related to freight issues (ship and truck). […]
Ah, remember the good old days… In this month’s galvanized steel conference call with HARDI wholesalers, one of the manufacturing companies discussed the frustrations of buying foreign steel, issues with late deliveries and then difficulties moving the steel from the port to his manufacturing facilities. Traders expressed frustrations related to freight issues (ship and truck). […]
Honest answer: I don’t know… One of the questions asked in last week’s flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis has been repeated many times over the past five months. The phrasing of the question changes as steel prices continue to rise and surprise those taking our steel market survey. We asked last week, […]
Steel prices stand at $1,540 per ton ($77/per cwt) and are likely to hit at least $1,600 per ton – with no obvious signs of demand destruction in the short term, according to respondents to Steel Market Update’s most recent survey. And some respondents reported back that the only thing harder to find than metal […]
The flat rolled steel market was a little tougher to read this week. Steel Market Update’s survey of the market over the past two days clearly shows a further increase in hot rolled prices, with buyers reporting offers as high as $1,600 per ton. SMU puts the average HR price at $1,540 this week as […]
Hot rolled steel prices have been on the rise for 40 weeks in a row now, reaching a new pinnacle of $1,570 per ton—at least until next week when they likely set another new record. Steel Market Update’s Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward higher prices over the next 30 days. SMU’s check of […]
Hot rolled steel prices hit a new eyebrow-raising milestone this week, taking another big jump to an all-time high of $1,500 per ton as supplies continue to fall short of demand. Prices for flat rolled steel products, which have been on a relentless uptrend for the past eight months, rose by a further $60-100 per […]
Hot rolled steel prices hit a new eyebrow-raising milestone this week, taking another big jump to an all-time high of $1,500 per ton as supplies continue to fall short of demand. Prices for flat rolled steel products, which have been on a relentless uptrend for the past eight months, rose by a further $60-100 per […]
Hot rolled steel offers ranged as high as $1,500 per ton this week as steel tags just keep rising to levels never seen before. Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week puts the average HR price at a record $1,440 per ton, up another $30 per ton over last week and 35% higher […]
Feralloy Corporation., a subsidiary of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., is planning to build a massive service center on the site of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s new flat rolled mill under construction in Sinton, Texas, near Corpus Christi. The new warehousing and processing center will be known as Acero Prime-Feralloy Texas. Acero Prime is Feralloy’s subsidiary […]
Ternium remains on track to start up its new hot strip mill in Pesquería, outside of Monterrey, Mexico, on time, according to industry sources. The Latin American steelmaker has indicated that it expects to start up by early June and has already filled its June and July order books, market participants said. Ternium did not […]
Among steelmaking raw materials, the prices of iron ore, pig iron, zinc and aluminum rose through mid-April, on top of large gains seen in previous months. Prices increased as much as 10% month-over-month for those four products. Iron ore prices have reached record levels, while coking coal prices remain down. Pig iron and scrap prices […]
The headline price for hot rolled steel crested $1,400 per ton this week, according to Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market, surpassing a mark that few buyers ever expected to see in their careers. SMU pegs the current average hot rolled price at $1,410 per ton, but sources report offers as high as […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. had a stellar first quarter and looks forward to its new Sinton, Texas, mill beginning production later this summer. The $1.9 billion EAF mill is designed with production capabilities that will compete with traditional integrated steel producers, providing a differentiated product portfolio with a climate-conscious focus, SDI said. Four customers have committed […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. announced today a major investment to establish four new coating lines—two in the South and two in the Midwest. The $225 million investment in the southern location will support the new Sinton, Texas, steel mill, which is on track for first production in late summer 2021. A 300,000-ton flat-roll galvanizing line with […]