Not surprisingly, steel buyers report a tightening in negotiations with the mills following the two $40 per ton price increases announced in January and February. However, the majority of those responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week say the mills are still willing to talk price–on all products but plate and Galvalume–if […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel continue to slowly move out as the market sees upward momentum following the mill price increase announcements in January and February. Hot rolled lead times now average more than four weeks, cold rolled and plate more than six weeks, and galvanized nearing seven weeks. Lead […]
Foreign steel imports dropped to an eight-year low in December, coming in under 2 million net tons, according to final data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Removing the 200,000 tons of semi-finished steels (mostly slabs used by domestic steel mills), finished steel imports were just under 1.7 million net tons. As shown […]
Steel Market Update did not see a huge move in flat rolled steel prices this week. Our benchmark hot rolled average rose a modest $5 per ton, but is still below $700 per ton and a long way away from the $730 per ton suggested by ArcelorMittal USA in their announcement email. The other flat […]
Flat rolled steel prices have begun moving higher. Benchmark hot rolled coil (HRC), which has been one of the weakest of the flat rolled products recently, was up $10 per ton. Cold rolled did even better, up $15; galvanized better than CR, up $20; and Galvalume bested them all, up $25 per ton compared to […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel continue to inch out as market momentum shifts toward strengthening steel prices. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mills. The busier the mills, the less likely they are to […]
With steel prices in transition following last month’s price increase announcement from the major mills, the tone of negotiations between producers and buyers appears mixed. The majority of buyers report the mills are still willing to talk price on all products but plate, but fewer in the high-demand categories of hot rolled and galvanized. Most […]
We found mixed results in flat rolled steel prices this week. Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that the bottom has been “firming” and that prices are moving sideways to slightly higher on most products. SMU talks more about price momentum and pricing in a separate article in tonight’s issue. Here is how we […]
February imports are trending high, close to 3 million net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce license data released Feb. 12. However, looking at the data more closely, the domestic steel mills continue to bring in a tremendous amount of semi-finished steels (slabs, billets – but most are slabs). The mills are on pace […]
Now in the second month of the new year, shortly after the mills announced a $40 price increase, price negotiations appear to be tightening up a very small bit. Buyers generally report that the mills are still willing to talk price on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and to a lesser degree Galvalume. On the […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel have extended slightly in the past few weeks, lending support to those who believe the market is near the bottom. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mills. The busier […]
We gathered mixed results regarding flat rolled and plate steel pricing over the past two days. When we say mixed, we don’t mean some prices falling while other prices were rising. What we found was pricing stable to rising. We heard from a number of buyers that there were mills still actively pursuing prices at, […]
Steel Market Update data and comments from industry executives suggest that steel prices may be near a firm bottom. Prices are trying to move higher following the mills’ $40 per ton increase announcement last month. SMU’s Steel Price Momentum Indicators remains at Neutral, but we will be reviewing the situation over the next few days. […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released all kinds of foreign steel import data late this afternoon. We are studying the numbers to see if they make sense, as one of the steel mills told SMU late today that the mechanical pipe and some of the other pipe categories appear to be out of whack. In […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. announced it will acquire a 75 percent equity interest in Galvalume supplier United Steel Supply (USS), with an option to gain the other 25 percent in the future. United Steel Supply, Austin, Texas, is a leading distributor of painted Galvalume flat rolled steel used for roofing and siding applications. The company operates […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released import license data through the month of December 2018 earlier this week. The December license data is showing a large reduction in semi-finished imports (mostly slabs going to domestic steel mills). SMU believes the lower slab numbers may be due to quotas from Brazil having been reached, thus capping […]
We have seen Nucor, U.S. Steel, NLMK USA and ArcelorMittal move spot flat rolled base prices up $40 per ton effective immediately. That is what was announced this week. The reality is not yet clear, and the prices referenced in tonight’s pricing assessment only marginally take the increases into account as negotiations are very early […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel continued to shrink this month. Even plate, which has been in short supply, is showing signs of loosening with its average lead time dipping to less than six weeks from more than seven weeks at the beginning of January. Lead times for steel delivery are […]
Halfway through the first month of the year, buyers report that most mills are willing to talk price to secure the order. Even price negotiations with plate mills are beginning to loosen up. Nearly half (47 percent) of plate buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week said suppliers are now open […]
All is quiet on the eastern front (the western front announced increases yesterday – so, not so quiet there). Steel buyers have been telling Steel Market Update over the past few days that their inventories are stable to high, they are not comfortable with all of the uncertainty and concerned with the lack of transparency […]
When we looked at the hot rolled coil market this week, it became apparent there were a number of pressures on that particular product. Pressures from short lead times, for one. Some of our sources reported HRC lead times around 2-3 weeks. We also have at least one mill looking for market share with numbers […]
Mill lead times turned the corner on the new year little changed from mid-December. At less than four weeks for hot rolled and around six weeks for cold rolled and coated products, lead times for spot orders of most products are as short as they have been in over a year. While still in high […]
Steel Market Update’s first canvass of the new year shows a subtle shift in the price dynamic between mills and steel buyers. No doubt, buyers still have a lot of leverage and most mills are usually willing to talk price to secure the order. But SMU’s findings show a slight tightening in negotiations. In the […]
We captured some very low (market-share grabbing) hot rolled prices this week. We are seeing two domestic mills aggressively going after hot rolled orders. We saw spot HRC as low as $660 FOB one specific mill. However, we have decided not to include their offers in the market pricing yet. Our readers need to be […]
January 2019 has begun and steel prices have taken up where they left off as Steel Market Update price ranges and averages dropped compared to where we ended 2018. Steel buyers are worried about inventory levels, which some service centers reported as having grown more than expected during the month of December. They also worry […]
For almost eight years, Steel Market Update has been working in conjunction with the U.S. and Canadian steel mills on a basic steel training workshop for those involved in the flat rolled, plate and long product steel industries. We have trained in excess of 600 individuals ranging from people on their first day on the […]
The New Year has started, the pace is a little slow for some, others have told me that their order books got a kick start yesterday. I have to imagine the differences are based on geography and product. This afternoon I had an interesting conversation with the head of commercial for a domestic steel mill. […]
Steel Market Update rolled flat rolled and plate steel prices for this past week (Dec, 26, 2018) due to limited data being available due to the holidays. We will produce new pricing on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. Our Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward “Lower” prices on flat rolled (hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized […]
Mill lead times suggest that demand for flat rolled steel products continues to bounce along the bottom as the year comes to a close, with no clear direction yet for the first quarter. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the shorter the lead time, the less busy the […]
With steel prices continuing to decline, steel buyers remain in a strong negotiating position. Twice each month Steel Market Update canvasses the flat rolled and plate steel markets to gauge whether the steel mills are willing to work with their steel buying customers and negotiate steel pricing for orders placed this week. At least nine […]