The majority of steel buyers responding to our latest market survey say domestic mills are more willing to talk price on sheet and plate products than they were earlier this month. Sheet negotiation rates rebounded across the board compared to early June, while our plate negotiation rate hit a full 100%.
As of June 24, the premium galvanized coil carries over hot-rolled coil is just $5 per short ton (st) above the lowest level recorded in almost two years.
Prices for steel sheet slipped this week despite Section 232 tariffs remaining at 50% and a US strike on nuclear facilities in Iran over the weekend.
Steel prices inched higher again this week across most of the sheet and plate products tracked by SMU.
All five of the averages for sheet and plate mill lead times tracked by SMU extended moderately this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
Steel prices climbed for a second straight week across all five sheet and plate products tracked by SMU.
Following eight consecutive weeks of declines, sheet and plate prices saw some upward movement this week in the wake of last Friday’s Section 232 tariff increase announcement. Gains varied by product.
The price premium of galvanized coil over hot-rolled (HR) coil has narrowed over the past two months, resuming the downward trend seen for most of the last year. As of May 27, the spread between these two products is at one of its lowest levels in nearly two years.
Mill lead times shrunk this week for all of the sheet products tracked by SMU and held steady on plate, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
Coated sheet imports from Vietnam face steeper anti-dumping duties after Commerce recalculated the rates due to ministerial errors.
Sure, demand isn’t as good the market had hoped it would be earlier this year. But assuming it doesn’t fall of a cliff, buyers will have to restock at some point. And that might give domestic mills enough leverage to raise prices again.
Most sheet and plate prices edged lower again this week, albeit at a slower pace compared to the movements seen over the last seven weeks. Buyers remain cautious and hesitant to hold onto much inventory, citing lingering demand concerns, ongoing tariff uncertainty, and a potentially weakening scrap market in June.
Steel buyers said Nucor’s price decrease was a public acknowledgement of what most of the market had already known - that sheet prices were moving lower in a more significant way. The question now is whether mills and service centers will manage the decline or whether prices might fall rapidly, they said.
Sheet and plate lead times held steady this week, according to buyers responding to the latest SMU market survey. This week we saw little change from mid-April levels, with just one product (Galvalume) showing any significant movement.
Nearly two thirds of the steel buyers who responded to this week’s SMU survey say domestic mills are negotiable on spot prices. This increasing flexibility marks a significant shift from the firmer stance mills held in recent months.
Most sheet and plate steel prices declined yet again this week, with four of SMU’s five indices moving lower.
SMU’s flat-rolled steel prices were flat or lower as tariff-related uncertainty continued to drag on the market.
Nucor Corp. has tapped Fives Group as its partner in designing and manufacturing the new continuous galvanizing line being added at its California Steel Industries (CSI) joint venture in Fontana, Calif.
AZZ Inc. posted higher earnings in its fiscal fourth quarter, but sales slipped on weather disruptions.
Steel buyers responding to this week’s SMU market survey report a continued softening in sheet lead times. Meanwhile, plate lead times have moderately extended and are at a one-year high.
Nearly half of the steel buyers responding to this week’s SMU market survey say domestic mills are showing increased willingness to negotiate pricing on new spot orders. This marks a significant shift from the firmer stance mills held in prior weeks.
Steel prices slipped again this week, with all five of SMU’s sheet and plate indices trending lower for the second week in a row.
This week is the first time all of our indices have moved lower in unison since July 2024.
The Commerce Department has made a preliminary determination that ‘critical circumstances’ exist for certain imports of corrosion-resistant (CORE) flat-rolled steel from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Commerce decided that critical circumstances did not apply to CORE from South Africa. The department also found that critical circumstances did not apply to CORE from UAE producers Al-Ghurair Iron & Steel LLC and United Iron & Steel Company LLC.
Sheet and plate prices were mixed on Tuesday as the market took a wait-and-see approach to the Trump administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.
After a multi-week increase, buyers responding to our market survey this week reported that lead times are stabilizing or marginally declining for each of the sheet and plate products we track.
Ternium Mexico wants the Commerce Department to delay making its final decision in the ongoing corrosion-resistant steel dumping investigation.
Steel prices climbed across the board this week, with every steel product tracked by SMU rising to multi-month highs.
One buyer summed up the prevailing sentiment: “Everything is pointing up — pricing, sentiment, order activity. But the real test will come once the immediate reactionary buying subsides. Will there be enough true demand to support these levels through mid-year? That’s the big unknown.”
"Recent activity in the marketplace strongly indicates that these imports are being rushed into the United States in an effort to avoid the imposition of antidumping duties," petitioners said.