Flat rolled steel prices barely budged over the past couple of weeks as steel buyers and sellers took a break for the Holidays culminating in the calendar flipping over to 2018. When we asked one commercial manager of a steel mill to comment about pricing earlier today we were told, “Gotta let the market percolate […]
After treading water through the Christmas and New Year Holidays, and then pushed by the most recent price increase announcements (+$40 on flat rolled and +$50 on plate), we are seeing steel prices moving higher by an average of $10 to $20 per ton. The expectation by most steel buyers (not all) is for higher […]
Flat rolled steel prices moved higher over the past week. Hot rolled offers are reaching (or exceeding) $700 per ton, while cold rolled and coated offers are moving into the low to mid $800s (base pricing, before extras). Steel buyers seemed resigned to paying higher numbers with many waiting to see what will happen with […]
The fire at AK Steel helped some buyers to accept the price levels being suggested by the domestic mills. Steel Market Update heard from a number of sources that offer prices were in many cases close to the levels suggested by ArcelorMittal USA in their most recent price announcement: $720 per ton hot rolled ($36.00/cwt) […]
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 (USA) 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 […]
The year 2017 proved a bit “odd” as the threat of political action against foreign steel worked against the domestic steel mills. Early in the year, newly crowned President Trump authorized the U.S. Department of Commerce, led by former steel magnate Wilbur Ross, to investigate if the steel industry is essential to the U.S. for […]
Mill lead times have inched up slightly in the past two weeks following price hikes announced by the major mills earlier this month, according to the latest data from Steel Market Update’s flat roll market questionnaire. One of the key indicators tracked by SMU, lead times reflect the activity at the mills and the order […]
Buyers of flat rolled steel report that more mills are holding the line on pricing following the price increases announced earlier this month. Mill order books are firm and there’s no negotiating for a better price, according to 28 percent of respondents to SMU’s latest steel market questionnaire. About 22 percent say they still find […]
Eight out of 10 respondents to this week’s SMU market trends questionnaire believe the fundamentals are pointing toward higher steel prices in the first quarter. As one service center executive commented, “it’s only a question of how high and for how long.” But so far, the price increases announced by the major mills this month […]
Both flat rolled and plate steel distributors saw only a very modest drop in inventories as of the end of July. Inventories continue to be “balanced” at 2.7 months of supply on flat rolled and 2.1 months of supply on plate, according to Steel Market Update’s proprietary inventory data. Flat Rolled Spread Tightens Although our […]
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 (USA) 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 […]
Flat rolled steel prices jumped this week as buyers and sellers of steel react to the latest round of price increase announcements. Last week, there was a $50 per ton increase announced on steel plate and then later in the week the sheet mills announced a $30 per ton price increase on hot rolled, cold […]
Steel Market Update recently adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to “Higher” as, in our opinion, steel buyers should anticipate flat rolled steel prices to move up over the next 30 to 60 days. During last week’s analysis of the flat rolled steel market, 78 percent of the respondents agreed with SMU, sensing that pricing momentum […]
Domestic mills are in the driver’s seat and steel prices have nowhere to go but up, agreed most respondents to Steel Market Update’s flat roll market trends questionnaire this week. SMU contacts steel buyers twice each month to monitor their views on market conditions. Asked for their opinion on the current direction of steel prices, […]
In separate notices to customers today, SSAB Americas, Nucor and ArcelorMittal USA announced their intentions to raise steel plate transaction prices by $50 per ton. This new announcement means the domestic plate producers have raised prices by $130 per ton ($6.50/cwt) over the past 30 days. SSAB Americas said it is raising transaction prices by […]
Mill lead times have seen little change in the past month, according to the latest data from Steel Market Update’s flat roll market questionnaire, despite the price hikes announced by the mills two weeks ago. One of the key indicators tracked by SMU, lead times reflect the activity at the mills and the order levels […]
Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Higher from Neutral earlier today. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will rise over the next 30 to 60 days. We last adjusted Momentum on Oct. 18, 2017, when we moved from “Lower” to “Neutral.” We are hearing from buyers and sellers of […]
Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Higher from Neutral earlier today. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will rise over the next 30 to 60 days. We last adjusted Momentum on Oct. 18, 2017, when we moved from “Lower” to “Neutral.” We are hearing from buyers and sellers of […]
Flat rolled steel prices are firming and heading higher. SMU found hot rolled prices over the past week remaining the same as the week before. All of the other flat rolled products saw their averages move higher. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $590-$640 per ton […]
Except for a few flat rolled steel mills that have not yet completely filled their December order books, most steel producers are holding firm on steel pricing in anticipation of good demand in the first quarter. The result is we are seeing two distinct pricing markets – those who have December tons and are willing […]
The Chicago Business Barometer retreated 2.3 points in November to 63.9, its lowest level in three months. Any number above 50, however, is an indicator of growth. The decrease followed October’s six-and-a-half year high, and economists expect the Barometer to finish the year continuing its 21 straight months of expansion. Output was robust in November, […]
Steel Market Update canvassed a large number of flat rolled and plate steel buyers during the course of the last 24 hours. The goal was to better understand where spot prices were being offered (and by whom) and if there were any differences in momentum or the negotiation positions of the various steel mills. We […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices are all over the place this week. We are seeing a distinct difference in pricing from those mills who still have November and December tonnage compared to those whose lead times are into January and beyond. Hot roll appears to be the strongest product with virtually all of our […]
The latest lead time data based on the Steel Market Update flat rolled steel survey—largely unchanged from two weeks ago–offers no clear indication of whether this week’s price announcements by three of the flat rolled steel mills will be accepted by the marketplace. SMU began collecting responses from steel buyers on Monday of this week, […]
I have a feeling if I were to write a long drawn-out final thoughts article that our readers would shoot me… I think we have 16 articles in tonight’s newsletter – many of them top-line articles (price increases, MSCI data, Sentiment, Lead Times, Negotiations, Section 232, etc.). What you don’t know is we actually moved […]
Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this past week. Benchmark hot rolled continues to be one of the better performing of the group. Our HRC average was up $5 per ton this week. Cold rolled was also up, galvanized was sideways and Galvalume dropped $30 per ton. Plate prices on a delivered basis were up […]
Will the rest of the domestic steel mills announce new coating extras in first-quarter 2018, raising the price on galvanized steel? There was no clear consensus among members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) during their monthly conference call earlier today. Recent mill price announcements have stemmed the decline in galvanized prices, […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel It has been a relatively light volume week in HR futures as the recent push higher in prices has left the […]
The expectation, even among the naysayers, is there will be a bounce in flat rolled prices once lead times reach the end of December and into the New Year. The expectation is that the domestic steel mills will raise prices in the coming days. We have heard rumors that the first mill to move may […]
Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this week. There was no clear-cut direction being set, although the expectation is for prices to rise once lead times go into January. For that matter, we did hear from some steel buyers who placed December HRC orders for $600 per ton and at the same time placed January […]