Based on the report filed by the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier this week, March 2017 foreign steel imports will be well above 3 million net tons and could be as high as 3.4 million tons. The last time we saw licenses at, or above, 3.4 million net tons was May 2015, the month prior […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) just concluded our early April flat rolled steel market trends analysis. A portion of that study is focused on steel mill lead times as we look to see if there are any changes in the trend which could affect flat rolled steel price negotiations. Lead times remained constant compared to what […]
As with steel mill lead times discussed earlier in this newsletter, those responding to our flat rolled market trends questionnaire reported the steel mills as modestly willing to negotiate all but Galvalume flat rolled steel pricing. Thirty-eight percent of our respondents reported the domestic mills as willing to negotiate hot rolled pricing. This is 9 […]
Flat rolled steel prices are showing themselves as being in a “mature” market having been on the rise for most of the 24 weeks since prices began their climb at the end of October 2016. We peaked out on hot rolled at $655 per ton over the last two weeks. This week we moved off […]
SMU saw the flat rolled steel markets as flat to slightly down while SteelBenchmarker was mixed and Platts had hot rolled and cold rolled prices increasing by $10 per ton. Sounds like a confusing market but, when looking closer at the actual numbers it really isn’t. Benchmark hot rolled coil (HRC) was reported to average […]
Flat rolled steel Price Momentum ended the month of March where it began – indicating higher prices for hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and now plate prices. The steel and manufacturing industries remain firmly entrenched in the Optimistic camp as the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index hit new highs for the three-month moving average […]
As we moved around the industry trying to gauge where flat rolled steel prices are this week, we found most buyers as being optimistic but perhaps not as many as two weeks ago. There seems to be a growing question about whether the market has “peaked” or not. Everyone wants to know where prices will […]
If the goal of the 2015 CORE, cold rolled and hot rolled trade cases was to reduce the number of foreign steel tons coming into the United States, well, the data says the cases did not complete their mission. There is one exception, hot rolled steel imports did indeed move lower and continue to move […]
We are getting mixed messages regarding “real” lead times coming out of the domestic steel mills. The information we are sharing below comes from actual mill lead times coming directly from the producing mills to their customers. This is different than the lead time averages collected by Steel Market Update and shared with our readers […]
Flat rolled steel prices saw modest moves this past week according to Steel Market Update (SMU) and Platts steel indexes. The two strongest products were cold rolled and galvanized each up $15 per ton for the week. Benchmark hot rolled pricing was up $5 per ton on Platts to $650 per ton and $10 per […]
Flat rolled lead times, which had been stuck in a rut over the past couple of months, have started to move out according to those responding to our flat rolled market trends survey. We are now seeing average lead times on hot rolled close to five weeks (4.81 weeks). We also saw movement in cold […]
The aggressiveness of the flat rolled steel mills was minimal on Galvalume steels this week but other products appear to be open for discussion, according to those taking the SMU flat rolled market trends analysis survey just completed earlier today (Thursday, March 23, 2017). We found 47 percent of our respondents reporting the domestic mills […]
Flat rolled prices moved higher over the past week based on SMU sources. Even so, there is much discussion as to what direction prices will go from here and we will have more on that subject later this week. We did receive comments from a large service center that our readers might find of interest […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released March license data this afternoon that shows foreign steel imports trending toward a 3.5 million net ton month. SMU does not believe the month will come in at that level when all is said and done, but it appears it will be the first month to reach or exceed […]
Steel mill lead times are one of the key indicators of future direction of steel prices. Steel buyers must be aware of the amount of time it takes a supplier to produce and ship a new order. Lead times and balancing inventories go hand in hand. When lead times shrink, buyers can pull back on […]
You will notice a couple of changes in our Comparison Price Indices (CPI) report. The U.S. and Canadian steel mills have adjusted their extras for placing zinc on the surface of steel (galvanized). One of the items referenced in the CPI is .060” G90 which prior to this week was based on a $3.45/cwt ($69 […]
Flat rolled steel prices are reacting to the two $30 per ton price announcements made by the domestic steel mills over the past month. The culprit (or scapegoat depending on your perspective) has been the rapid rise in ferrous scrap prices which are the primary inputs for electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills and is […]
This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through January 2017 and year on year changes. It then compares domestic mill shipments and total supply to the market. It quantifies market direction by product and enables a side by side comparison of the degree to which imports have absorbed demand. Sources are the American Iron […]
Flat rolled prices have begun to move higher based on the most recent analysis of the steel price indexes from last week that are followed by Steel Market Update (SMU). Benchmark hot rolled prices were up $10 per ton on our own index while Platts took their average up $7.50 per ton by the end […]
Total foreign steel imports for the month of January were announced this past week by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Imports totaled 2,814,081 net tons or about 120,000 tons more than December and slightly above the twelve month and three month moving averages. At the same time license data was updated for February imports and […]
On Wednesday, Nucor Sheet Group announced a $30 per ton ($1.50/cwt) price increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steels. The base price increase was to take effect immediately and was the second $30 per ton increase announced since the beginning of the New Year. Since October 21, 2016 Nucor has made six price […]
Licensed data for February was reported by the Steel Import Monitoring System of the US Commerce Department on March 7th. An explanation of the methodology that we at SMU use to analyze the trade data is given at the end of this piece. All volumes in this analysis are reported in short tons. Total rolled […]
Hot rolled average lead times remain extended at 4.38 weeks compared to the 3.79 weeks SMU was reporting one year ago. Cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume lead times were running close to or just below last year’s reported average. Lead time is the average amount of time it takes for a new order of a […]
Flat rolled steel mills have become less enthusiastic about negotiating prices for new orders of hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels. Based on the results of the flat rolled steel market trends analysis coming out of the survey we have been conducting over the past four days. We found 33 percent of the […]
Flat rolled steel prices firmed a little with benchmark hot rolled up $10 and cold rolled the same. Galvanized price average remained the same and Galvalume was up $5 per ton. We heard from a number of steel buyers that they were waiting to see what was going to happen with scrap prices (expectation was […]
Flat rolled steel prices rose this past week on every item with the exception of the SteelBenchmarker hot rolled index. Steel Market Update (SMU) saw benchmark hot rolled as up $25 per ton to $625 per ton. Platts moved up $5 per ton to $630 per ton and SteelBenchmarker, who reports prices twice per month, […]
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce released Preliminary Census Data for January showing steel imports were just shy 2.8 million net tons for the month (2,769,215 tons). The February license data, which was also updated through the last day of February was down slightly from the January levels at 2,614,907 net tons. Of interest […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to reference spot prices as moving higher from this point over the next 30 days. Our decision to move our indicator is due to the continued high prices for steel mill inputs, such as 62% Fe iron ore fines in China being sold at $91.50/dmt […]
Flat rolled steel prices are starting to react to the price increase announcements made last week. We saw a large bump in the hot rolled price average while cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume increases were a tad muted in comparison. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $610-$640 […]
A number of steel mills increased flat rolled steel prices, or provided price guidance higher than what was being collected in the spot markets, this past week. Steel buyers are telling SMU that there is a good chance the erosion of steel prices will cease because of these moves by the domestic steel mills. Steel […]