So, we have our service center inventories at 2.5 months of supply, down slightly from the 2.6 months we got from our distributor data suppliers the previous month. This is not from our survey; we decided to put that data aside as it was suspect – it had both buyers and sellers contributing to the […]
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 […]
We saw benchmark hot rolled prices slip this week. Hot rolled dropped to $745 per ton, which is down $15 per ton from what we measured one week ago. Cold rolled prices were unchanged. The lower end of the range on galvanized and Galvalume base prices slipped $20 per ton. The Steel Market Update Price […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Chief Market Risk Officer, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
We are seeing steel price spreads, the range from low to high on a product, tighten this week. Part of the reason is the lack of SMU collecting low-ball orders this week as we did last on galvanized. A second reason is that the high end of the range is being compressed. The net result […]
Editor’s note: The following analysis of the U.S. rod and bar market was contributed by CRU Steel Analyst Ryan McKinley. Steel Market Update will periodically expand its coverage of the steel market with long products content from CRU as an added benefit to our members. U.S. mills announced wire rod price increases of $1.50/cwt across […]
Lead times for spot orders of hot rolled and cold rolled steels appear to have bottomed and extended a bit in early December. Lead times on HR and CR have not been this long since September, but are well below the levels seen when prices were spiking earlier this year. Lead times for steel delivery […]
Twice per month Steel Market Update canvasses the flat rolled and plate steel markets as we look to identify key market metrics. One of those is whether the steel mills are working with their steel buying customers and are they willing to negotiate steel pricing for orders placed this week for delivery based on existing […]
Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this new role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategy for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a Trader at Cargill spending time in Metal […]
It has been a busy week for Steel Market Update. I spoke at the HARDI annual conference in Austin, Texas, on Sunday and I was in Atlanta on Tuesday evening and Wednesday working with our web developers. I am in the office on Friday. Next week I will be in Toledo, Ohio, on Monday through […]
Flat rolled steel prices seem to be on a bit of an extra rollercoaster ride as the domestic mills fill out any holes in their order book for December and book new orders for January and February. Over the past few weeks, Steel Market Update has managed to collect some very low data points on […]
Demand remains strong in the manufacturing sector, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The PMI, from the Institute for Supply Management, increased 1.6 percentage points to 59.3 in November. A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion. New orders rose 4.7 points to 61.1, well above the 52.4 percent value that indicates growth. […]
Global manufacturing remained stalled in November. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI stayed at 52.0, unchanged from the 23-month low posted in October. Growth in new orders and production was subdued with the greatest expansion noted in the consumer sector. Improved business conditions were seen in the U.S, Eurozone, Japan, China, the UK, Brazil and […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
We had a great webinar on Wednesday, despite some technical glitches. I am looking forward to making webinars a standard practice for Steel Market Update. We do not yet have a date/subject set up for the next webinar. I am traveling this weekend and early next week. I will be speaking on Sunday morning in […]
We did not collect as many low price data points on hot rolled this week as we did last. We did see erosion at the upper end of the range as most offers appear to be trending below $800 per ton. Steel buyers continue to worry about the basic laws of supply and demand. There […]
Few of the steel buyers canvassed by Steel Market Update this week expect flat roll prices to rise significantly in the first quarter. Most anticipate prices stabilizing or continuing to trend downward, especially if the Trump administration lifts the Section 232 tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The promise of increased supplies from the […]
Metalforming firms are expecting a decline in business conditions and new orders during the next three months, according to the November 2018 Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) Business Conditions Report. The PMA is a monthly economic indicator for manufacturing, sampling 122 metalforming companies in the United States and Canada. Current average shipping levels were steady in […]
Lead times for most flat rolled steel products are at or near their shortest of the year. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the shorter the lead time, the less busy the mill. The less busy the mill, the more likely they are to negotiate on price. Responses […]
Steel mills remain open to price negotiations on hot rolled, cold rolled and coated products, but not plate, report buyers canvassed by Steel Market Update this past week. Steel Market Update tracks how buyers and sellers of flat rolled and plate steel characterize price negotiations with the mills. The steelmakers’ greater willingness to compromise on […]
Last week, Steel Market Update conducted our mid-November analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel market trends. During the process, we reviewed demand, lead times, negotiations, service center spot pricing, steel pricing and a myriad of other important issues of interest to buyers and sellers of hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate […]
Flat rolled steel prices dropped again this week. One of our domestic steel mill sources told us this afternoon, “Everything is down about a buck from last week.” This source went on to say that the U.S. steel mills are producing more and exporting less. The net result being there is more supply available. Here […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
Flat rolled steel prices dropped this week based on our analysis of the market. Benchmark hot rolled coil dropped $5 per ton and is now averaging $800 per ton ($40.00/cwt). We saw even larger negative price movements in cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels. Plate prices, however, were flat and the expectation of plate steel […]
This evening’s price and price momentum discussion comes after a number of conversations held with flat rolled steel service center CEO’s and a trading company executive on Thursday and Friday of last week. The words “mud” and “murky” were prominent as the steel distributors try to figure out where things are headed as we enter […]
This evening’s price and price momentum discussion comes after a number of conversations held with flat rolled steel service center CEO’s and a trading company executive on Thursday and Friday of last week. The words “mud” and “murky” were prominent as the steel distributors try to figure out where things are headed as we enter […]
Lead times for Galvalume and plate products shortened up a bit in the past two weeks, but otherwise lead times for flat rolled products have seen little change in October or November, despite the price hike announcements by the major mills. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the […]
Class 8 truck orders rose in October, reaching 43,000 units for the 10th best month ever. Orders were up 2 percent from September and 19 percent from a year ago. Robust freight volumes have kept truck capacity utilization tight, driving stronger build rates for new vehicles. “October is traditionally the start of the next year’s […]
Flat rolled steel prices continue to vacillate as we saw the low end of our range on benchmark hot rolled coil improve by $20 per ton. We are aware of a couple end-of-the-year deals that are below our range, but we feel at this point they are limited and not available to the greater market. […]