Tag: Nucor

Where do sheet prices go from here? How is the state of steel demand? And is the dip in prices we've seen just a case of the summer doldrums, or is it something more significant?

Now that June has arrived, the official countdown until SMU’s Steel Summit 2024 – North America’s premier flat-rolled steel conference – has begun. If you haven’t already registered, don’t delay. More than 700 attendees from more than 300 companies have already registered to be in Atlanta this August. In short, it’s poised to be another […]

Let’s start by asking this: Were the proclamations that Nucor’s published index prices would drift lower with the reality of a bear market for flat rolled ultimately a bit premature with the benefit of hindsight?

It feels like the summer doldrums arrived a little earlier than usual this year. I know there had been rumors of a price hike. The prospect of a sharply lower June scrap trade probably didn't help the chances of that actually happening.

US sheet prices remained on a downward course again this week amid chatter in some corners about a potential broader slowdown in demand. SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price now stands at $730 per short ton (st) on average, down $20/st from last week and down $115/st from a recent high of $845/st in early April. […]

Nucor will increase galvanized and galvannealed coating extras effective July 6, 2024.

Nucor Corp. is adding another commercial door manufacturer to its growing portfolio of downstream companies. Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor announced on Monday that it has agreed to purchase Rytec Corp. for $565 million in cash. Rytec produces high-speed, high-performance commercial doors at its two Wisconsin manufacturing facilities. The company’s rolling doors are used in warehouses, manufacturing […]

Nucor said on Monday that it would keep its weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price flat this week. In a letter to customers, the company said its consumer spot price (CSP) for the week of June 3 will remain $780 per short ton (st). The sideways move comes after two consecutive weeks of a $10/st increases […]

There seems to be more question than usual about which way prices will go over the next few weeks. There is talk in some corners that Nucor’s announced $760 per short ton (st) for HR through mid-May, and subsequent increases marked a public attempt to call a price bottom. (Our price announcement calendar here is […]

We’re just a few months away from SMU’s Steel Summit 2024 – North America’s premier flat-rolled steel conference.

Hot-rolled coil prices are known for their volatility. There are a variety of hedging strategies industry players have used to manage it, one of them being the use of HRC futures. However, some have been hesitant to dip in their toe, and their money, in futures and have preferred other approaches.

Week over week, the futures curve saw minimal change.

The chatter about the June ferrous scrap market has been noticeably muted as we come off the Memorial Day weekend.

Let's take a collective deep breath ::in:: and ::out::... And we're back. But where exactly are we? Are steel prices going up or down? Is demand really decelerating or is it an illusion? How is the market navigating the new mill pricing mechanisms?

Nucor moved its published consumer spot price (CSP) up again this week.

Nucor’s Consumer Spot Price (CSP), a legitimate mill offer price, is a potential disruptor to North American steel sheet commercial and procurement strategies. We will dive into the details of what we think the CSP is and why we believe it is a potential disruption to how the North American sheet market operates.

Here’s something I didn’t expect to see this week: SMU’s Current Buyers’ Sentiment Index dropped to its lowest point since August 2020.

Sideways and range-bound describes the US steel derivatives market over the past week, though the monthly picture shows a more notable decline in front-end flat prices. Week-over-week saw the June futures contract firm slightly, from $770 per short ton (st) to $780/st as of Thursday, May 23’s provisional close. However, the contract was down by […]

Cleveland-Cliffs is seeking at least $800 per short ton (st) for hot-rolled (HR) coil with the opening of its July order book. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the move was effective immediately in a letter to customers on Thursday, May 23. Recall that Cliffs announced in April that it would publish a monthly HR price. The […]

Nucor upped its published consumer spot price (CSP) this week.

The last time we were together on April 18, the June hot-rolled coil (HRC) future was sitting around the $800 support level where the May future found a bottom in mid-February.

Veteran StoneX futures broker Spencer Johnson will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, May 29, at 11 am ET. You can register here. Note that the live webinar is free for all to attend. A recording will be available only to SMU members.

SMU surveyed our market contacts this week about steel prices, demand, and the overall marketplace. Below are some of the buyers' responses in their own words to help you get a feel for current and future market conditions. Demand is a big topic of discussion currently. Is it steady, falling, or on the upswing with summer construction heating up? As you can see from the answers below, it depends on who you ask. One buyer’s response sums it up pretty well: “I still see the marketplace as soft/stable with some segments busy, while others tread water.”

Cleveland-Cliffs’ Lourenco Goncalves thinks trade measures announced by the US government on Tuesday against China were just the opening salvo in a series of trade actions. Case in point: The Biden administration targeted China’s “unfair” trade policies with additional tariffs on an array of Chinese-made goods - including steel, aluminum, and EVs.

Our spot price is little changed this week after moving sharply lower last week on the heels of Nucor’s unexpected price cut. Here’s one thought on that trend: Nucor's weekly HR price (aka, its “Consumer Spot Price” or CSP) has to date functioned almost more like a monthly price.

Steel prices were overall mixed this week, according to our latest check on the market. Sheet prices were flat to down, while plate prices inched up. SMU indices on hot rolled, cold rolled, and galvanized are now down to the lowest levels seen since November.

Wolfe Research Managing Director Timna Tanners cautioned clients about the darkening clouds of a brewing steel sheet storm in the company's Basic Materials Weekly Webcast on Monday. “This one we’ve been talking about for a while, and we feel like the theme is coalescing here,” she said.

Nucor chose to hold its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil steady this week after stunning the market last week with a significant price decline. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday morning that its $760-per-short-ton (st) CSP base price for HR coil is effective immediately. The price is unchanged from the CSP announced on May 6 but down $65/st from $825/st April 29.

What's the tea in the steel industry this week? Here's the latest SMU gossip column! Just kidding... kind of. Yes, some of the comments we receive in our weekly flat-rolled market steel buyers' survey are honestly too much to put into print. Some make us laugh. Some make us cringe. Some are cryptic. Most are serious. We appreciate them all. Below are some highlights from our survey results this week. Some of the comments that we can share with you are also included, in italics, in the buyers' own words, with minimal editing on our part.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) appropriated more than $4 billion to the General Services Administration (GSA) and Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) for “Buy Clean” programs. The statute makes clear that GSA and FHWA purchases under these programs are limited to those with “substantially lower” emissions. There is no ambiguity in that requirement. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has defined “substantially lower” to mean products with the lowest 20% of embodied emissions when compared to similar materials.