Flat rolled prices held their own this week and remained at, or very near, last week’s levels. At the moment we are seeing the mills as willing to negotiate prices on some items but, at the same time we are see some strengthening as scrap prices have firmed up over the past week and may […]
Even though the U.S. Department of Commerce is reporting foreign steel imports at high levels, imported steel is getting more expensive and, in some cases, getting harder to find. SMU sources, both steel trading companies and buyers of foreign steel here in the United States, are expressing reservations about the future of foreign steel imports. […]
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 HR futures consolidate in quiet trading week as the market absorbs the anticipated first decline in the HR index since the […]
Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that there are a few steel mills “looking for orders” and that flat rolled steel prices are “somewhat negotiable with tons” but, otherwise, the steel mills are doing a good job of holding the line on prices. We have seen a couple of drops in pricing due to […]
Last week Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our early February flat rolled steel market trends analysis which is just a long way of saying our survey. Our analysis began on Monday and ended on Thursday afternoon. We covered a large number of topics with manufacturing companies, service centers, steel trading companies, steel mills and suppliers […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been struggling to get a clear view of the current market situation as we attempt to identify which direction we see flat rolled steel prices going from here. We have been receiving mixed messages over the past two weeks and we have been advising our readers to remain vigilant and […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are feeling good about the industry based on the results of the just completed flat rolled steel market trends analysis released by Steel Market Update (SMU). The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index set another record high beating the high mark achieved just two weeks ago (an explanation of […]
Flat rolled lead times at the domestic steel mills were essentially flat to slightly shorter based on the respondents to the Steel Market Update (SMU) flat rolled market trends survey completed earlier today. Steel buyers are quick to react to shorter lead times by requesting spot price reductions in their negotiations with the steel mill […]
Average flat rolled lead times (the amount of time it takes a steel mill to produce a new order placed today) have begun to shrink which is causing steel mills to be more receptive to negotiating flat rolled spot steel prices based on those responding to this week’s flat rolled steel market trends analysis survey. […]
The JP Morgan Global PMI remained steady at 52.7 in January. Global manufacturing production increased for the fifty-first consecutive month according to data collected IHS Markit. Faster expansion was noted in the US, Eurozone and UK. Manufacturing expansion slowed in Japan in January and contraction was registered in South Korea, Brazil, Turkey and Greece. At […]
I debated about just changing our Price Momentum Indicator to Neutral just on hot rolled and cold rolled and leaving galvanized at Higher. The pricing pressure on coated products spot negotiations does not appear to be necessary when looking at the lead times. The question then becomes are the lead times perhaps a bit “padded,” […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) collected data from the flat rolled steel markets which indicated some changes in the index averages. Whether this is a signal of a break in prices is not yet known and something we will be working on over the next few days. We have seen data this week whereby the strength […]
US Steel narrowed its annual net loss in 2016, posting a full year loss of $440 million compared to a net loss of $1.6 billion in 2015. Net sales for the year totaled $10,261 million. Sales for fourth quarter were $2.65 billion, down from 2.69 billion in third quarter. The company posted a net loss […]
Are steel prices poised to give back some of the gains collected over the past few months? Steel Market Update and our readers have been debating this subject as word of mills being more receptive to negotiate steel pricing has been leaking out into the market. On Tuesday of this week, SMU published an article […]
Steel Dynamics announced net income of $20 million for fourth quarter 2016. Company net sales totaled $1.9 billion, down from $2.1 billion in third quarter. Operating income decreased to $239.5 million from $338.7 million in the previous quarter. Steel shipments for the quarter totaled 2.2 million; fabrication shipments totaled 131,186 tons. Average selling price for […]
Manufacturers in the Fifth and Tenth Districts were optimistic about future manufacturing growth during the next six months. The Tenth District, under the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, was especially optimistic on future growth. Richmond Fed The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond reported manufacturing activity strengthened in the Fifth District during January. The composite […]
The market did not collapse after our article about potential cracks in hot rolled. In fact, the hot rolled prices actual increased by $5 per ton while the other items remained intact at last week’s levels. Although SMU did collect data on hot rolled that was lower than the week prior, the lower offers were […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator has been pointing to Higher flat rolled steel prices since late October (12 weeks). Based on our analysis of last week’s steel market trends survey as well as direct contact with buyers today, SMU Price Momentum has not changed and our expectation is for prices to move higher over the next […]
Are cracks starting to develop in the floor of steel prices? Are any cracks a harbinger to a reversal of flat rolled steel prices? It is too early to tell. However, buyers and sellers of steel need to be aware of that the markets may be in the early stage of change. Since the beginning […]
Manufacturing activity continued to improve in the Philadelphia area during January and is expected to continue to do so for the next six months, according to the latest Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The index for current manufacturing index rose from 19.7 in December to 23.6 in January for […]
Steel mill lead times, the amount of time it takes for steel mills to produce new orders of hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized or Galvalume products, continue to remain extended according to the results of Steel Market Update flat rolled steel market trends analysis conducted during the course of this week. Hot rolled lead times […]
Flat rolled steel buyers reported the domestic steel mills as not willing to negotiate prices on flat rolled steel products. This is a continuation of the position we reported beginning in November after the initial flat rolled steel price increase announcements being made in late October. Only 17 percent of the respondents to our flat […]
Flat rolled steel prices continued their march higher this week in reaction to the latest price announcements made by the U.S. steel mills earlier this month. Where steel prices go from here will depend on lead times, the domestic mill order books and how much inventory is available. We will have a glimpse at each […]
Flat rolled steel prices are fast approaching the highs achieved during calendar year 2016. Today, Steel Market Update (SMU) released our new hot rolled coil index average at $625 per ton. This is within $10 per ton of the $635 per ton high reported during calendar year 2016. In the case of galvanized steel our […]
Steel Market Update participates in a monthly steel conference call hosted by HARDI (Heating, Air-conditioning, Refrigeration Distributors International). The call is dedicated to a better understanding of the galvanized steel market. The HARDI wholesalers are responsible for the supply of sheet steel and coil as well as other products to the mechanical contractors involved with […]
OK, don’t get freaked out (yet) as the new flat rolled steel base price increases aren’t really impacting the numbers for this week. However, there were a couple of steel mills already seeking higher hot rolled, cold rolled and coated prices prior to the announcement. We did collect some of that data in tonight’s steel […]
On Friday of this past week AK Steel announced a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) spot base price increase on all the flat rolled products they produce: hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steels. On Monday morning, NLMK USA followed with the same $40 per ton announcement. We learned NLMK lead times are in February on […]
AK Steel and NLMK USA raised flat rolled steel prices by $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) on all new spot sales of flat rolled steels (hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized). At the same time, SMU understands that Steel Dynamics has opened their order books for February and are quoting prices that are approximately $40 per ton […]
The steel buyers and sellers of steel who responded to our first flat rolled steel market trends survey of the New Year foretold the move by AK Steel to raise flat rolled steel prices late on Friday. Eighty-one percent of the respondents reported that they were expecting another flat rolled steel price increase (the 5th […]
On a single data basis both our Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index and Future Sentiment Index are at the record highs for our index. Current Sentiment, which is how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful in the existing market environment, came in at +71 this week. […]