Steel Market Update has adjusted our steel pricing momentum indicator for hot-rolled coil lower. That’s not something we’ve done since July 21, 2020 – and it’s not a decision we took lightly. But the evidence is hard to ignore. Our hot rolled coil price now stands at $1,910 per ton ($95.50 per cwt), down $10 per ton […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows another small decrease for hot rolled steel prices. The hot rolled price has dipped three of the last four weeks by a total of $45 from the high of $1,955 per ton in the first week of September. SMU is changing its Hot Rolled Price […]
Algoma Steel’s initial public offering (IPO) is around the corner following shareholder approval of a deal between the Canadian steelmaker and Legato Merger Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) The merger between the New York-based SPAC and privately held Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based Algoma is expected to close this week, an Algoma spokeswoman said. […]
Sajjan Jindal, managing director of Indian steelmaker JSW Steel Ltd., has been elected chairman of the World Steel Association. Jindal’s term runs through 2022. He replaces past World Steel Association Chairman Yu Yong, president of Chinese steelmaker HBIS Group. “Governments and policy makers have come to realize that in order to rebuild their economies, they […]
By Stephen Williamson, CRU Research Manager, Aluminum Aluminum prices went through the $3,000 per metric ton mark on the LME this week. Fueled by energy constraints in China and tightening supply of alloy hardeners, the price broke through the $2,950 ceiling and ran up another $200. The price leveled at $3,150 as of this writing […]
Flat Rolled = 54.5 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 54.9 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories grew in September to the highest level seen since August 2020, according to Steel Market Update data. At the end of September, service centers carried 54.5 shipping days of supply on an […]
When the books are written on a historic year for steel prices, we will probably look back at August and September as the months when things started falling apart. Why? Because that’s when the extraordinay gaps – between U.S. steel prices and those abroad, between steel prices and scrap prices, and between market senitment and […]
Mill lead times for orders of flat rolled and plate products have shortened significantly over the past month. Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market shows the average lead times for hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel have come in by roughly three-fourths of a week. The typical hot rolled lead time is […]
Since this time last year, mills have been in the driver’s seat when it comes to steel price negotiations. With demand exceeding supplies – and with buyers more concerned about finding steel than what they had to pay for it – mills have basically been able to steer prices wherever they wanted. That appears to be changing, […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices were flat to down slightly this week with the exception of a small increase in cold rolled, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. The small ups and downs in steel prices over the past month are in line with most buyers’ expectations […]
Mill shipments of steel products jumped 11.2% in August to 9.69 million tons, following an increase of 2.0% the month prior. Apparent supply was up 7.8% in August after a 3.6% increase in July. August’s expansion is the sixth straight month of growth in the steel supply since February’s double-digit contraction. This analysis is based on […]
In the face of strong demand, limited availability and record-high prices in the U.S., steel buyers have looked overseas for relief. August Commerce Department data shows steel imports have been on the rise for the past three months, with imports’ share of total sheet product shipments reaching 17.5%, up from 16.7% the month prior, and the […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has agreed to acquire Midwestern scrap recycler Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. (FPT) for $775 million. The deal means the Cleveland-based steelmaker has secured its own reserves of prime scrap, which Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves has previously characterized as a “precious metal.” FPT recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has agreed to acquire Midwestern scrap recycler Ferrous Processing and Trading Co. (FPT) for $775 million. The deal means the Cleveland-based steelmaker has secured its own reserves of prime scrap, which Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves has previously characterized as a “precious metal.” FPT recorded earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization […]
U.S. steel exports increased 1% from July to August at 764,000 tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce data. August levels remain in line with exports over the last few months. Recall that July saw the second highest monthly export level in the last three years (778,000 tons), just behind the April 2021 […]
JSW Steel USA has restarted the electric arc furnace (EAF) at its sheet mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio, after a minor burn through late last month. The EAF resumed melting on Wednesday, a day ahead of the expected schedule, JSW Steel USA CEO Mark Bush told Steel Market Update on Thursday. The burn through happened on […]
Flat rolled steel prices are in transition, which tends to lead toward more volatility and wider price ranges in Steel Market Update data. One of the issues we face when we reach an inflection point in the spot market is the lack of daily transactions. With service center inventories nearing a state of balance, combined […]
Final Census data shows that August foreign steel imports declined 10% from July’s 18-month high to 2.78 million tons. September import licenses are currently at 2.86 million tons as of Oct. 4, up 3% from August but down 7% compared to July. Total finished imports for August were finalized at 2.18 million tons, the highest […]
The David J. Joseph Co. (DJJ) has acquired two recycling operations that are expected to increase its capacity by 10%, parent company Nucor Corp. said. DJJ’s deals – terms of which were not disclosed – will support the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s growth strategy and increase its ability to secure scrap for its electric arc furnace (EAF) […]
Steel and metals companies need to up their cybersecurity game as digital thieves increasingly shift their focus from sophisticated data breaches to high-volume ransomware attacks. And doing so isn’t just the right thing to do, it might soon be required for insurance purposes and to qualify for Defense Department work, said Mike Del Giudice, principal […]
Mexican flat-rolled steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) is taking a planned, two-week outage on its hot strip mill, a company spokesman said. The outage is underway. Because it was planned, customers should not be impacted, he said. AHMSA’s hot strip mill has annual capacity of 2.8 million tons per year, according to the Association […]
JSW Steel USA’s electric arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio, has experienced a “minor furnace burn through,” the company’s top executive said. But the impact on customers is expected to be limited, JSW Steel USA CEO Mark Bush told Steel Market Update. The burn through happened on Sunday, Sept. 26, and repairs are […]
Mill lead times for flat rolled and plate products have gradually been shortening over the past two months. Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows the average lead time for hot rolled down to nearly eight weeks from more than ten weeks in early August. Lead times for cold rolled and galvanized […]
Preliminary Census data shows that total foreign steel imports declined 10% in August, easing from July’s 18-month high down to 2.77 million tons. September import licenses are currently at 2.50 million tons as of Sept. 27, a 10% decline from August and down 19% compared to July. Total finished imports are preliminarily at 2.18 million […]
Price dynamics in the steel market are starting to resemble an inverted yield curve, and market participants should treat the situation with appropriate caution. Plate mills and tube producers have announced significant price increases: $75 for tubular products ($3.75 per cwt), $80 per ton for plate and as much as $240 per ton for quenched and […]
It’s beginning to look like hot rolled steel prices will fall short of the $2,000 per ton ($100 per cwt) mark that many believed would be the peak. Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday shows the average hot rolled price decreasing for the third time in as many weeks to $1,920 […]
Evraz North America (NA) has followed other domestic mills in raising prices for steel plate. The increases are effective immediately for all new orders, the Chicago-based steelmaker, a subsidiary of London-based Evraz Plc, said in a letter to customers dated Monday, Sept. 27. Evraz NA is increasing transactions by at least $80 per ton ($4 […]
At the top of the news this week, Steel Market Update sources reported that steel supplies are loosening as lead times from the domestic mills shorten and surging imports start to make it into service center inventories. It’s no surprise, then, that steel prices are beginning to moderate. Hot rolled steel prices rose virtually every […]
By Stephen Williamson, CRU Research Manager, Aluminum Aluminum prices continue to flirt with $3,000 per metric ton on the LME. While off a bit, now at $2,866, recent upsets in the market make price volatility the norm in the near term. Energy curtailments in China exacerbate not only global aluminum supply but also silicon (Si) […]
By Stephen Williamson, CRU Research Manager, Aluminum As in last week’s report, aluminum prices continue to flirt with the $3,000 per metric ton mark on the LME, $2,908/t as of this writing. However, this apparently steady price range belies a torrent of market activity. The protracted energy curtailments in China continue to cast doubt on […]