I am going to start my Final Thoughts today with a question. I am working on an article as part of my The Truth About Selling Steel series and I want to learn more from buyers and sellers of steel as to what the term “Value-Added” means? We hear this term used a lot in […]
This may come as a surprise to some but, there are many who think 2016 may be one of those years where flat rolled steel price volatility, maybe even extreme volatility, could become the norm. We are now in the midst of a five month upswing in flat rolled steel prices which has taken benchmark […]
The following article on hot rolled coil (HRC) and busheling scrap (BUS) trading was produced by Andre Marshall and Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Well, I wrote last about a month back and at that time I commented that I was surprised how quickly the market (media) had gone from bearish to bullish, really […]
Steel Dynamics announced a strong quarter with net income of $63 million on net sales of $1.7 billion for first quarter 2016. Steel operating income increased 104 percent to $136 million from fourth quarter due to a 17 percent improvement in shipments which totaled 2.12 million tons. Average steel selling price dropped $40 from Q4 […]
Steel buyers need to be aware that there has been a jump in iron ore spot pricing in China over the past 48 hours. The Steel Index (TSI) reported 62% Fe fines into the port of Tianjin, China at $64.3/dmt (dry metric ton) up 4 percent from the previous day. This same item is up […]
The following is one of the monthly analyses Steel Market Update does on key commodities and raw materials which impact steel prices: iron ore, scrap, coking coal as well as zinc and aluminum. Prices of the various commodities have been rising over the past month which is a net positive for the steel industry. The […]
Last week hearings were held in Washington, D.C. regarding the plight of the domestic steel industry, world over-capacity of steel production (with a special emphasis on China). During the hearings a number of trade remedies were mentioned such as Section 201 and Section 232 along with the antidumping and countervailing duty flat rolled steel trade […]
The global steel industry situation and its impact on U.S. steel industry is the topic of discussion this week at hearings held by the United States Trade Representative and Department of Commerce in Washington DC. Representatives from the steel industry, manufacturing, mining and Congress are giving their opinions and suggestions during three days of hearings, […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by Dave Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, Dave Feldstein is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our […]
The ocean bound freight market had a bit of good news last week—the Baltic Dry Index rose to 517 on April 7 and closed the week out on April 9 at 539, nearly an 86 percent increase from mid-February’s historic low of 290. MID-SHIP Report says a celebration is not yet warranted since the BDI […]
We have received a number of calls from sellers of steel asking for our help in trying to explain, from an independent source, why flat rolled steel prices are moving higher and why we expect this trend to continue. When looking at the history of Steel Market Update, our steel market intelligence publication was actually […]
German steel giant and elevator manufacturer Thyssenkrupp is back in steel industry news again. The company will take full ownership of Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlantico (CSA) from Brazilian mining company Vale SA. Vale owns 27 percent of CSA and plans to sell it to Thyssenkrupp AG for a “symbolic price” while remaining sole supplier of […]
An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. The total number of indicators considered in this analysis is currently 34. Please refer to Table 1 for the view of the present situation and the quantitative measure of trends. Readers should […]
Bank lenders to Essar Steel Group have approached Tata Steel and JSW Steel to buy out the company according to sources quoted by CNBC. Bankers took matters in their own hands after expressing concern that Essar Steel cannot pay back Rs 40,000 crore (about $6 billion) in loans to State Bank of India and other […]
In Sunday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update we published an article highlighting the Platts indices which are used by some mills and their customers to adjust flat rolled steel contract pricing. The other daily index out there is The Steel Index (TSI) which will be the index used for the NASDAQ Midwest Hot Rolled […]
Steel mills are still scrounging for ferrous scrap with little luck. We are hearing from our scrap sources that prices could be up as much as $30 per ton and we have even heard some numbers higher than $30. The net result will be more pressure on steel and steel prices as the mills scramble […]
The following article was written by SMU founder and publisher, John Packard with the assistance of Platts Content Director, Metals Americas, Joseph Innace. Shortly after Steel Market Update (SMU) became a real company I understood the need for the flat rolled steel industry to have an pricing index which was independent and not tied as […]
The following HRC and BUS futures market trading article was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk, LLC. Here is how Jack and Andre Marshall saw trading this week and what the forward curve looks like: HR futures continue to grind higher. While HR demand seems to be holding steady we are starting to see […]
The following article was originally produced by the Wall Street Journal on March 14, 2016. The U.S.’s biggest iron ore miner Monday said it would restart a key mine in Minnesota, a positive sign for the battered U.S. steel industry following a small uptick in prices and new import tariffs on foreign steel. Cleveland-based Cliffs […]
The Great Lakes 2016 shipping season commenced on March 2 with a load of iron ore for ArcelorMittal Cleveland. The tug/barge Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder loaded 14,600 tons of iron ore at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal to deliver to ArcelorMittal on the Cuyahoga River. The barge was about 4,600 tons shy of a full load due to […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), busheling scrap (BUS), and financial futures markets was written by Dave Feldstein. As Flack Steel’s director of risk management, David Feldstein is an active participant in the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market and we believe he will provide insightful commentary and trading ideas to our […]
Ryerson CEO Eddie Lehner called 2015 “one of the harshest and most difficult metal environments we have seen in terms of magnitude and duration.” Ryerson Holding, a service center company, announced fourth quarter and full year results on Thursday. The company posted a net loss of $20.5 million for the quarter. Revenue was down 23 […]
The fundamentals of the Chinese steel markets do not support the recent surge in iron ore prices, according to Goldman Sachs and Li Xinchuang, deputy secretary of the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA). Iron ore prices rose earlier this week on an expectation that new government measures to stimulate the economy would result in […]
In Sunday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update we warned our readers that something was happening in China that could impact US steel prices. We have been working on this project ever since and this is what we have learned from multiple sources around the world: Iron ore and steel prices are surging in China. […]
Steel prices have surged in the Chinese domestic market over the past few days. Steel Market Update reported in our Final Thoughts on Sunday evening that something was up and buyers needed to be aware of what is going on around them – both here in North America as well as around the world. Volatility […]
World Steel Exchange Marketing (WSEM) announced that the US Shredded Steel Scrap TSI Index will begin futures trading on the Nasdaq Commodities Exchange (Stockholm) as of March 29, 2016. The 20-gross-ton USA Midwest shredded steel contract will be listed, and quoted, for the current month and each of the next 11 months. The contract will […]
Steel Market Update received the following information about the ferrous scrap markets in Asia and Turkey from Damon Sun of Daido International: There has been aggressive movements in the ferrous scrap markets in Asia and Turkey in recent days. Off the East Coast, Turkish scrap prices are up $12-$15/mt and on the Asian region side, […]
Steel prices continued their three month hike higher as SMU benchmark hot rolled price index (average) for the month was $408 per ton. Even with some minor stumbles noted in hot rolled and cold rolled during the second half of the month, our Price Momentum Indicator is still pointing toward higher prices over the next […]
The US Department of Commerce provided the domestic steel industry a “win” according to early reaction to the just released preliminary determination of antidumping (AD) against China, Brazil, Japan, Russia, India, Korea and the United Kingdom. I have to imagine some will be surprised at the high penalties assigned to a number of countries (see […]
The following article is one of the key proprietary products produced for our Premium level members. We wanted to share it with all of our readers this evening to give everyone a feel for how we are seeing the steel economy based on “the numbers.” An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at […]