The uptrend in steel prices has continued into the New Year with flat rolled prices increasing by another $10-20 per ton. SMU’s Price Momentum Indicators continue to point higher for all steel products. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $580-$600 per ton ($29.00-$30.00/cwt) with an average […]
For those of you who stretched out the Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Holidays and are just returning to your offices – Happy New Year and welcome to the decade that promises to make the last 10 years look tame. Steel Market Update will return to our normal market analysis schedule this week, and we […]
Welcome back from the Christmas Holidays. This is the 149th Executive level issue of Steel Market Update produced during calendar year 2019. It is also anticipated to be the last Executive issue prior to the New Year. On Monday we will publish our last Premium issue of the year, our 49th for 2019. Christmas and […]
Happy Holidays! I expect this week to be a tad on the slow side as buyers and sellers of steel celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. One year ago, benchmark hot rolled prices were averaging $745 per ton ($37.25/cwt), down from the cycle peak achieved the week of July 23, 2018, at $915 per ton ($45.75/cwt). Since […]
After a brief hesitation early in the month, mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel have continued to increase. The latest data shows slightly longer lead times for all flat rolled products except for Galvalume. Plate lead times have extended, as well. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand […]
Negotiations between steelmakers and steel buyers continue to tighten. Responses to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week indicate the mills are slightly less flexible on price for most products as they work to collect four increases announced since late October totaling $150 per ton. In the hot rolled segment, the majority of buyers […]
Flat rolled steel and plate prices remained range-bound this week. The latest price moves by the domestic steel mills (+$40/ton on flat rolled) did not have time to move the needle and take prices higher. As we enter the Christmas and Hanukkah Holidays, we anticipate minimal spot trades over the next couple of weeks. SMU […]
After declining for much of 2019, steel prices have moved up substantially in the last two months. Will the trend continue into 2020? Flat rolled steel producers raised prices three times during October and November for a total of $110 per ton. (Editor’s note: ArcelorMittal USA announced an additional $40 flat rolled increase on Friday. […]
In October, demand for sheet products declined by more than the seasonal norm. Demand for long products is softening as construction expenditures decline. This analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The […]
This Steel Market Update report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories. Since January, there has only been one month when the import market share of total sheet products exceeded 15 percent. The import share of HRC has been below 10 percent since January. The most striking result […]
Flat rolled steel prices increased by $15 per ton or more in the past week, depending on the product, while plate prices rose by $10 per ton, as the mills continued trying to collect their recent price increases. Price momentum is pointing to likely higher prices in the weeks to come as the mills try […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel may be starting to level out after lengthening week after week since early November. The latest data shows slightly longer lead times for cold rolled and galvanized products, but slightly shorter lead times for hot rolled, Galvalume and plate. Lead times for steel delivery are […]
As flat rolled steel prices rise, it comes as no surprise that negotiations between mills and steel buyers continue to tighten. Responses to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week indicate that mills are less flexible on price as they work to collect three increases announced since late October totaling $110 per ton. In […]
November’s licensed import volume of total rolled steel products was the lowest since February 2010. Year over year, total rolled product imports in November were down by 27.4 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 17.7 percent decrease in October and 15.5 percent decline in September on the same basis. This […]
Benchmark hot rolled coil rose this week as we saw the lower end of the range move much higher compared to what we collected last week. We found most data points on HRC between $540-$570. We continue to see high base price spreads between hot rolled and cold rolled/coated steels. Cold rolled, with its $175 […]
Steel prices had upward momentum in November following multiple price increase announcements by the mills on flat rolled and plate products. Steel Buyers Sentiment moved upward along with the prices as service centers and OEMs anticipated a strengthening market. After bottoming in mid-October at around $480 per ton, the benchmark price for hot rolled steel […]
This morning President Trump tweeted that due to the decline in the Brazilian and Argentinian currencies, he intends to place 25 percent tariffs on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum from both countries. His tweet has created a great deal of confusion in the U.S. steel markets. Steel Market Update is attempting to […]
This morning President Trump tweeted that due to currency manipulation by Brazil and Argentina, he intends to place 25 percent tariffs on steel from both countries, and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum. His tweet has created a great deal of confusion in the U.S. steel markets. Steel Market Update is attempting to help calm […]
Last week U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal USA announced a third round of price increases. This week Nucor and Algoma followed suit. Not every mill has followed their lead, however. As a result, there are still some holes out there. Where, why and from whom are the questions of the day, which we can’t answer at […]
The following article is written by John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update On Sunday, SMU published in my Final Thoughts the following: “There has also been discussion about U.S. Steel in the marketplace as to whether the mill has decided to concentrate on auto, appliance, energy and electrical markets and perhaps move away […]
Pricing from the mills is considerably tighter than it was a month ago, when virtually every deal was open to negotiation. Yet Steel Market Update data indicates the flat rolled mills are still surprisingly flexible when it comes to spot prices even as they work to collect two $40 price increases announced in the past […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel have lengthened by roughly a week following the mills’ price increase announcements over the past month. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. Thus, this data indicates the mills have gotten busier as buyers step up to place […]
Benchmark hot rolled coil average pricing is up again this week as both the lower and upper ends of our range have increased compared to one week ago. We are still seeing some lower pricing which gives us pause, and we continue to seek more information on where prices are heading. The SMU Price Momentum […]
As of mid-November, steel prices appear to be moving upward following price increases announced by the major flat rolled and plate mills. How high and for how long is the subject of much debate and speculation. The market is clearly split between those in a buying mode in anticipation of sustained higher prices and those […]
Demand for steel sheet products declined by more than the seasonal norm in September. This analysis by Steel Market Update is based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import/export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The analysis summarizes total steel supply by product from 2003 […]
The price hikes by the mills on flat rolled and plate are beginning to take hold, as the average price of hot rolled is up $30 per ton, galvanized is up $5 and plate is up $15, according to Steel Market Update’s latest canvass of the market Here is how we see prices this week: […]
As flat rolled steel prices move higher, we need to remember that prior to the price increases there was an abnormally large spread between hot rolled based prices and those of cold rolled and coated. Instead of being $100-$140 per ton, they had been running as high as $180-$200 per ton. The spread was created […]
Not surprisingly following the mills’ $40 price increase announcements Oct. 24-25, negotiations between steelmakers and steel buyers have tightened somewhat. What is surprising is that roughly two out of three buyers still report mills actively negotiating spot prices on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized, as well as plate. In the hot rolled segment, 62 […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled showed early signs of lengthening in the first week of November following the $40 per ton price increase announcements Oct. 24-25. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. Thus, this data suggests the mills are getting busier as buyers […]
Flat rolled prices are beginning to shift gear and are slowly rising after the recent $40 per ton price increase announcements by the domestic steel mills. SMU continues to see a wide variety of pricing in our survey this week, but our channel checks are providing details of prices firming (although some mills appear to […]