Nucor Corporation plans to install an air separation unit at its Huger, South Carolina facility. The investment was announced as a contribution to the mill modernization undertaking. The air separation unit (ASU) will supply industrial gases for steelmaking operations. Currently, Nucor Steel Berkeley is under a long-term agreement for its industrial gas supply. However, the […]
Stelco Inc. CEO Alan Kestenbaum got candid with Steel Market Update’s (SMU) Michael Cowden during the third fireside chat of the 2022 SMU Steel Summit conference. This year was Kestenbaum’s first time speaking at the Summit. Forecasting For the Near Future Though we’ve already seen prices skyrocket and dip back down, Kestenbaum clued us in […]
NLMK USA is seeking to increase spot base prices for carbon steel sheet by at least $75 per ton ($3.75 per cwt). The price increase 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 letter to its customers on Friday, […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. aims to increase spot prices for carbon steel sheet by at least $75 per ton ($3.75 per cwt). The move is effectively immediately and applies to equally to all new orders of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products in North America, the company said in a press release on Wednesday, Aug. 24. It comes […]
US plate prices edged down marginally this week, declining for the third straight week. The easing was driven by a tightening of the range, though sources feel pricing has flattened. The repeated declines are not exactly a surprise given plate prices have been holding an unsustainable premium over coil, while buying remains strategic and mainly hand-to-mouth. […]
Sheet prices were mixed this week as market participants continued to debate whether a recent round of price hikes had stuck. While some said the increases would provide a floor and prevent further price erosion, others said prices were more likely to resume their downward trend in the weeks ahead. There were also questions about […]
Flat Rolled = 54.7 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 63.8 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat rolled inventories declined slightly in July as service centers worked to align inventories with slowing demand. At the end of July, service centers carried 54.7 shipping days of supply, down from 55 shipping days […]
We had a big development this week with London-listed Russian steelmaker Evraz Plc announcing plans to sell its North American operations. A move like this has been rumored for some time. We’ve heard versions of it going back to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February. Still, it was something of a shock to […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this new Premium content – an index comparing lead time and demand data – with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Apparent demand for flat-rolled steel in the US turned in our early August reading, though it’s too early to note if […]
SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. He and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients. They also provide process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held commercial leadership roles involving purchasing, sales, and risk management […]
Canadian steelmaker ArcelorMittal Dofasco aims to increase spot market base prices for steel sheet by at least $65 per ton CAD (~$50 per ton USD). The Hamilton, Ontario-based company said the price hike was effective immediately and applied equally to hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coated products. “We reserve the right to re-quote any previously quoted offer […]
US plate prices edged down again this week after seeing their largest decline in nearly five years the week prior. The latest declines are not exactly a surprise given plate prices had been holding an unsustainable premium over coil and buying has been largely hand-to-mouth. But the straw that broke the camel’s back might just […]
Eariler this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects including current and future steel prices, price increase announcements, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com to be included […]
Nucor announced a price hike on Monday, and our HRC price is up modestly for the first time since mid-April. It’s too early to say whether those two trends are related. Our HRC price went up $15 per ton. Nucor’s price increase was $50 per ton, and the jury is still out on whether it […]
SMU’s benchmark hot-rolled coil price inched upward for the first time since mid-April, nearly four months ago. The modest gain came even as cold-rolled and coated prices continued to see significant declines. Plate prices were roughly flat. By the numbers: Our average hot-rolled coil price now stands at $820 per ton ($41 per cwt), up […]
Algoma’s plate mill is up and running following the first phase of a modernization project that was completed in June. The second phase of the expansion, initially expected to be finished by November 2022, has been moved to June 2023, a company spokeswoman told SMU on Tuesday, Aug. 9. The reason: “to support our customers […]
Nucor Corp. aims to increase base prices for steel sheet by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The price hike is effectively immediately and applies to all new orders, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in letters to customers dated Monday, Aug. 8. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that […]
At the request of US pipe and tube producers, the US Department of Commerce has begun inquiries into the alleged circumvention of antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on a variety of products from a host of Asian countries. The request came from Atlas Tube Inc., Bull Moose Tube Co., Maruichi American Corp., Nucor Tubular Products […]
Klöckner & Co SE is fortifying its relationship with Nucor by investing in a new plate processing facility on the campus of Nucor’s new steel mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky. Anticipated to be a state-of-the-art facility, Nucor Steel Brandenburg will house an electric arc furnace that will produce heavy plate for infrastructure projects such as wind […]
The US Department of Commerce has issued the preliminary results of administrative reviews of the antidumping duties on corrosion-resistant steel flat products from China and South Korea, setting new import duty rates for the period July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. In China’s review, Metalco was the sole company subject to the review. Because […]
While the rest of us are melting from the heat of the sun, Nucor announced it will build a new melt shop at its bar mill in Kingman, Ariz. The $100 million investment will create approximately 140 new full-time jobs and have the capacity to produce around 600,000 tons a year. Construction is expected to […]
Flat-rolled steel prices fell again this week as they have just about every week since late April. But there were a couple of new trends of note this time, even if they don’t change the overall narrative of a continued correction in flat-rolled steel prices. For starters, plate prices took a big tumble – down […]
Sheet prices continued to move lower this week, and plate joined the downward trend following a price decrease announced last week by Nucor Corp. Hot-rolled coil prices now have a tenuous grasp on $800 per ton ($40 per cwt). SMU’s average HRC price stands at $805 per ton, down $35 per ton from last week […]
US plate prices were largely unchanged this week, but probably not for long now that Nucor has significantly lowered plate prices with the opening of its September plate order book. The move came after Nucor in early July kept prices flat with the opening of its August order book. Discrete plate prices, as well as prices […]
Nucor is significantly lowering plate prices with the opening of its September plate order book. Discrete plate prices as well as prices for normalized plate will be $120 per ton ($6 per cwt) lower. Prices for cut-to-length plate 84-inches wide will be $80 per ton ($4 per cwt) lower. All published adders and extras will […]
Nucor Steel Gallatin has produced the first coil on its upgraded equipment after completion of the $650 million expansion project to lift the Ghent, Ky. mill’s annual capacity from 1.6 million tons to 3 million. The first quality coil – an 18-mm thick strip, a new product for the Gallatin plant—was produced on June 24, […]
Nucor made downward revisions to most of its galvanized coating extras on Friday, with new extras going into effect Sept. 3, 2022. “Consistent with our practice to monitor the cost of zinc, we have revised our galvanized coating weight extras effective with orders acknowledged for week ending September 3, 2022,” a Nucor press release reads. “Price […]
Backward physical integration comes to the aluminum rolling industry SDI’s decision to “jump the fence” and enter the aluminum rolling sector was, in and of itself, blockbuster news. However, the repercussions on the aluminum scrap market may be even more profound. CRU has argued for some time that the big aluminum rolling mills would eventually […]
We were close to peak steel prices this time a year ago. Are we now close to peak pessimism? Your answer to that question might depend on whether you’re working at a steel mill or at a service center. We’ve noticed a big split in sentiment lately. Roughly 40% of respondents to our surveys – […]