President Joe Biden on Friday signed into law a bill stripping Russia and Belarus of what’s known as “permanent normal trade relations,” or PNTR. The president also signed into law a bill prohibiting imports of energy products from Russia. President Biden’s actions came after the Senate unanimously voted on Thursday to pass a bill to remove PNTR […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
I gave the keynote address at The FABRICATOR’s Manufacturers & Suppliers Event in Schaumburg – just outside of Chicago – earlier today. And I want to thank the organizers who invited me, everyone who attended and especially those who asked questions. My presentation focused on the factors we’ve all been following closely over the last […]
I decided to take a break from prices and survey data today to check in with a few trusted mill and service center executives. Each had their own take on the market. But there were a couple of common threads. First, the war in Ukraine is still driving the steel and metals markets – even […]
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 […]
Steel Market Update sources expect ferrous scrap prices to rise yet again in April, with obsolete grades potentially up $50-$100 per gross ton over March and busheling up $120-$200 per gross ton. The big anticipated gains in April follow record price increases in March due to the Ukraine-Russia war. “I have to say, this is one […]
Sheet prices continue to rise with new, higher offers from some domestic mills: as much as $1,500 per ton for hot-rolled coil and $1,900 per ton for cold-rolled and coated product. Despite those higher pricing levels, gains on the hot-rolled side have moderated. SMU’s benchmark hot-rolled coil price now stands at $1,435 per ton ($71.75 […]
The market has worked itself into a frenzy about rising costs: for fuel, for labor, and for raw materials. All that translates into sharply higher prices for steel. There is a good case to be made that these factors – especially when it comes to fuel and raw materials – won’t go away anytime soon […]
Fuel surcharges continue to march higher along with increased steel prices and ballooning costs for raw materials such as ferrous scrap and pig iron. Case in point: Wheeling-Nippon Steel’s fuel surcharge will increase to 24% effective with shipments on Monday, April 4. “The surcharge will continue to be added to the freight on all invoices […]
Fuel surcharges continue to march higher along with increased steel prices and ballooning costs for raw materials such as ferrous scrap and pig iron. Case in point: Wheeling-Nippon Steel’s fuel surcharge will increase to 24% effective with shipments on Monday, April 4. “The surcharge will continue to be added to the freight on all invoices […]
Nucor has increased the raw materials surcharge (RMS) for customers buying steel sheet on terms linked to scrap prices. The Charlotte, NC-based steelmaker said its RMS – based on prices for busheling scrap – would be $515 per ton ($25.75 per cwt) in April, a $190-per-ton increase from prior levels. The higher RMS will be […]
The war in Ukraine has disrupted commodity markets across the globe. Prices for all seven of the steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days. Through late-March, pig iron prices surged 60% compared to one month prior, coking coal prices jumped 45%, scrap prices increased 26-32%, zinc and iron […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled The Ukraine/Russia war continues to fester, leaving all markets with maximum uncertainty. HR physical prices have risen just over $300/ST […]
The U.S. does not have any additional Section 232 negotiations in the pipeline with South Korea, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters. And domestic steel industry lobbying groups said that talks weren’t happening with Brazil or Argentina either, the other countries subject to a Section 232 quota rather than a 25% tariff. The industry execs […]
Steel prices continued to shoot upward at a breakneck pace as mills raced to keep ahead of spiraling raw material costs. Supply chain shocks caused by Russian forces’ invasion of Ukraine have led to higher pig iron prices, expectations of big gains in scrap prices next month – and all that comes on top of already […]
Distributors who sell galvanized steel products have some recent experience at managing purchasing and inventory in a rapidly rising price environment. In their monthly conference call earlier today, members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) drew some comparisons between the spike in steel prices prompted by the pandemic last year and the […]
The war in Ukraine continues to impact the volatility in steel markets around the world. Here in the United States, we have seen steel buyers coming off the sidelines as they look to protect themselves against the possibility of being short steel. This despite flat-rolled steel inventories being at 2.72 months’ supply at the end […]
U.S. Steel Corp. expects to see record EBITDA for the first quarter totaling approximately $1.3 billion, a new all-time high for the period. In guidance issued Thursday, the steelmaker forecast adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $2.96 to $3.00. “We expect to deliver another strong quarter of safety, adjusted EBITDA, free cash […]
Sheet prices saw their biggest week-over-week gains – and by a wide margin – since Steel Market Update’s foundation in 2008. Case in point: SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price jumped to $1,260 per ton this week ($63 per cwt), up $210 per ton (20%) from $1,050 per ton last week. That is more than double […]
Sheet prices saw their biggest week-over-week gains – and by a wide margin – since Steel Market Update’s foundation in 2008. Case in point: SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price jumped to $1,260 per ton this week ($63 per cwt), up $210 per ton (20%) from $1,050 per ton last week. That is more than double […]
Flat Rolled = 54.4 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 51.1 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories continued to recede in February, indicating that inventories may be near balance. At the end of February, U.S. service centers carried 54.4 shipping days of supply on an adjusted basis, according to […]
Steel import permit applications for February totaled 2,274,000 net tons—a 24.5% decrease from the 3,013,000 permit tons recorded in January and a 25.3% decrease from the January final imports total of 3,044,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in February was 1,759,000, down 22.8% from the final imports total of 2,279,000 in January, reported the […]
Steel Market Update’s hot-rolled coil price was at $1,050 per ton ($52.50 per hundredweight) last week. Several mills are now offering hot band at $1,200 per ton ($60 per cwt). I don’t know where things will settle when we adjust prices on Tuesday. But I think it’s fair to say that prices will be significantly […]
Steel import permit applications for February totaled 2,274,000 net tons—a 24.5% decrease from the 3,013,000 permit tons recorded in January and a 25.3% decrease from the January final imports total of 3,044,000. Import permit tonnage for finished steel in February was 1,759,000, down 22.8% from the final imports total of 2,279,000 in January, reported the […]
By CRU Research Analyst Christopher Dix and Analysts Diego Giangreco and Tiago Vespoli, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, March 10 Pig iron prices have increased following disruption to CIS supply. The global pig iron market is short of supply as Russian exports are difficult to replace. Black Sea freight options are now very limited, […]
By CRU Analyst Chris Bandman, from CRU’s Steel Monitor, March 16 The war in Ukraine is having widespread and deleterious effects on the global steel markets, but no one region has been more heavily affected than Europe. Steel prices in the region have soared to unseen heights and continue to rise on a daily basis. […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group We digress from the woes of aluminum supply this week to comment on the LME nickel market, which has redefined volatility with a capital “V.” LME nickel has exploded due to a massive Chinese speculative position amidst Russian uncertainty. Nickel fundamentals have been tightening for some time. In 2020, […]
In his remarks during Wednesday’s Community Chat, Johnny Sjöström, the top executive at SSAB Special Steels, suggested that the fighting in Ukraine will make nations more gun-shy about becoming too dependent on their foreign trading partners. Nations in Europe and many other parts of the world are scrambling to maintain production without the exports of […]
“What a difference a war makes.” No disrespect meant to the suffering people of Ukraine, but more than one respondent to SMU’s survey this week noted the big effect the war is having on global steel prices. Steel sheet had lost nearly 50% of its value in the six months from last September to February. […]
The war in Ukraine has triggered what may be the largest monthly increase in scrap prices ever seen with shredded scrap trading in March at around $600/GT and prime scrap at $700/GT – up by $125-175/GT over February, sources tell Steel Market Update. Market participants were expecting modestly higher scrap prices in March following declines […]