If you’re somewhat new to the steel industry, the wave of $60-per-ton sheet price hikes announced by mills in the US and Canada this week might have seemed a little weird. Why did they all announce it at once? Why did they all pick the exact same number to go up by? Let’s say you […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold a sizeable price advantage over imports, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis on foreign and domestic prices. US HRC is approximately 5–12% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins and any applicable tariffs. This is the fifth consecutive week that US […]
More North American steel producers are joining in the attempt to increase prices for steel sheet products. NLMK USA said in a Dec. 1 letter to customers that “due to increased order placement and extending lead times,” its base prices will increase by a minimum of $60 per ton ($3 per cwt) for spot orders. […]
Nucor Corp. has joined other sheet producers in the US and Canada in a push to raise base prices by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt). The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the move was effective immediately for new orders in a letter to customers on Wednesday, Nov. 30. “We reserve the right to […]
The bottom end of SMU’s sheet price ranges firmed up this week following price hikes of $60 per ton ($3 per cwt) announced by Cleveland-Cliffs and US Steel on Monday. It’s not clear yet whether the price increases will stick in full, in part, or simply stop the bleeding. Case in point: Our sheet price […]
US Steel Corp. aims to increase spot prices for carbon steel sheet by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt). The move is effective immediately, the company said in a press release on Monday, Nov. 28, and applies equally to all new orders of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated steel products in North America. This […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. aims to increase spot prices for carbon steel sheet by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt). The move is effective immediately and applies equally to all new orders of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products in North America, the company said in a press release on Monday, Nov. 28. The Cleveland-based company […]
As hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continue to trend lower and we approach the end of 2022, steel buyers are starting to see hopes of a pricing bottom, according to Steel Market Update’s latest survey results. HRC prices this week declined for another consecutive week, with the average price of $615 per net ton, down $15 […]
SMU’s sheet prices slipped again this week. But some market participants predicted that sheet was at or near a bottom. The anticipation of that bottom appeared to pull some big buyers off the sidelines. Large purchases from some pulled the low end of our hot-rolled coil range below $600 per ton ($30 per cwt) and […]
Hot-rolled coil lead times have been bouncing around four weeks on average since July. HRC prices over that time have fallen from $955 per ton ($47.75 per cwt) to $630 per ton as of last week, a 34% decline. The question now is whether we bottom out around $600 per ton. Will sheet prices and lead […]
US plate prices were down marginally last week as spot tons garnered some discounting on limited demand. Plate tags have been eroding slowly in recent weeks with buyers largely on the sidelines. That’s a shift from late October and early November, when prices were roughly flat. Buyers’ focus remains almost exclusively on managing inventories as […]
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices has begun to narrow again after three months of stability, according to recent Steel Market Update data. Prices for both products continue to move lower, as they have most weeks since May. The latest HRC-prime spread is exactly one-fourth of what it was this time […]
Producer prices came in below expectations in October, adding to hopes that inflationary pressures are beginning to ease, the US Labor Department reported. Last month’s Producer Price Index (PPI), a measure of the prices received for final-demand products, advanced just 0.2% month-on-month (MoM) and 8% from a year ago, the smallest annual gain in more […]
The following article on the hot-rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled The indicated value of HR spot has declined roughly $31 per short ton ($687/ST to $656/ST) this month. For comparison purposes, […]
Prices between imported hot-rolled coil (HRC) and domestic steel have further diverged, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 9–14% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins and any applicable tariffs. This spread has been growing for the last four to […]
Steel sheet prices fell across the board again this week, with hot-rolled coil prices dropping to their lowest point since late September 2020 – more than two years ago. But industry opinion about the direction of prices has diverged. That’s a significant shift from prior weeks, when sentiment was almost uniformly bearish. Some market participants […]
I wish I could offer you some hope about steel prices getting better. But at the moment, the thing that strikes me most is that $600 per ton ($30 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil (HRC) sure looks like the “new” $600 per ton. That’s a joke of course. I make it in remembrance of all that […]
Imported sheet and plate products arrived at US ports at a slower clip in September, accounting for a lower share of the domestic market for the third straight month. That’s according to a Steel Market Update analysis of import data from the US Commerce Department and domestic shipment figures from the American Iron and Steel […]
Total US mill shipments of steel products were down in September, falling to their lowest total year-to-date (YTD). Mill shipments have been fluctuating up and down all year with little consistency. September’s shipments totaled 7.58 million tons, a 7.2% decline from August’s 8.18 million tons, and the lowest total since February 2021. Apparent supply also saw a […]
Steel prices continue to slide, and apparently so does sentiment. Based on SMU’s latest check of the market, sheet prices once again fell across the board, grinding lower and nearing levels some never expected to see again. Speculation that hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices will be at or near the $600-per-ton mark takes center stage with […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) continues to hold the upper hand over imported steel when it comes to price, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 4–7% cheaper than foreign prices this week, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins and any applicable tariffs. Prior to this week, […]
Sheet prices fell across the board again this week as the slow grind lower that we’ve seen since last spring continued to gain speed. Hot-rolled coil prices fell $30 per ton ($1.50 per cwt) week-over-week. Declines in coated products were more pronounced, with cold rolled down $55 per ton, galvanized down $35 per ton, and […]
Nucor on Thursday confirmed its plate prices would remain unchanged with the opening of its December order book. Though the market was anxiously awaiting the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s announcement, few were surprised by it. Why? It’s not clear that a price decrease at this stage in the fourth quarter would generate buying. And it would devalue […]
Nucor Corp. hopes to hold plate prices steady with the opening of its December order book. That’s the same approach the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker took last month with the opening of its November book. Nucor said unchanged plate prices were effective Thursday, Nov. 3, in a letter to customers dated the same day. “We reserve […]
Latin American steelmaker Ternium saw a big earnings drop in the third quarter but remains upbeat on its position in and the fundamentals of the North American markets, according to the company’s Q3 earnings report and conference call with analysts on Thursday, Oct. 3. The Luxembourg-based company’s Q3 net income declined substantially, falling 84% year-on-year […]
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports offer no cost advantage over domestic steel this week, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. Domestic HRC prices are now approximately 1-3% cheaper than foreign steel, after consideration of freight costs, trader margins and any applicable tariffs. Although down, the relationship between foreign and domestic prices has remained within $18 […]
Sheet prices are down yet again, with our hot-rolled coil price now at its lowest point since late October 2020. The question two years ago was how far prices might rise as demand snapped back from the pandemic faster than supply could be brought online to meet it. The question now is when and where […]
Sheet and plate prices fell across the board once again this week as market participants continue to question when and where the market might bottom. Some not long ago predicted that hot-rolled coil prices wouldn’t fall below $800 per ton ($40 per cwt). Our average price is now well below $700 per ton, with some […]
US plate prices were unchanged this week — the first sideways move in nearly a month. Tags had been eroding slowly of late though buyers have remained largely on the sidelines of the spot market, focused on managing inventories. Nucor’s $120-per-ton ($6-per-cwt) price cut on plate back in mid-September now serves as the top end […]
I want to give a shoutout to the North American Steel Alliance (NASA) for giving me the opportunity to provide a keynote address at their Forecast Conference in Chicago earlier this week. And I want to take a minute to dive deeper into SMU’s lead time figures, one of the indicators I highlighted at the event as […]