Lead times on spot orders from domestic steel mills continue to decline, with no sign yet of how soon they might level out. Declining lead times are a leading indicator of declining steel prices. The average lead time for hot rolled is now approaching four and a half weeks, while cold rolled and galvanized are […]
After a year in which steel mills could basically name their price, 2022 is shaping up to be a buyer’s market – at least for the foreseeable future. Nearly all (96%) of the service center and manufacturing executives responding to Steel Market Update’s survey this week reported that the mills are willing to negotiate prices […]
Seaport Steel, a Varsteel Company headquartered in Seattle, Wash., has acquired Oregon Metal Services in Portland. The OMS acquisition continues Varsteel’s U.S. expansion through its Seaport Steel subsidiary. Seaport Steel now offers a comprehensive range of flat-rolled and discrete plate, structural, tube and bar products along with processing services and support. It is fulfilling a […]
Steel began the New Year with the same old trend of declining prices that began four months ago. Steel Market Update’s first poll of the market in 2022 shows flat rolled and plate prices down again anywhere from $10-65 per ton. The wide spread in this week’s price ranges most likely reflects business hiccups caused […]
Total steel imports into the United States jumped by nearly 45% in the first 11 months of 2021, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute, based on preliminary Census data through November. Imports for the year to date totaled 29.7 million net tons of steel, up 44.6% versus the same period in 2020, including 21.6 […]
Nucor has decided to keep plate prices unchanged with the opening of its February order book. The current plate pricing levels – announced on Monday, Jan. 3, and effective immediately – are the same as those rolled out in late November for January orders. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker’s letter to customers also marks the first […]
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Tonight’s issue will be the final one for this year. We will pick up publishing our newsletters again on Tuesday, Jan. 4. The first thing I want to do tonight is to thank every one of our members for their support over this past year. In light of the […]
In line with the declining steel prices, lead times for spot orders from the mills continue to shorten with the average for hot rolled now below five weeks and cold rolled and galvanized now below eight weeks, based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. Lead times for all products […]
As the upward slope of the green bars in the charts below clearly illustrate, the bargaining position in steel price negotiations has been steadily shifting in favor of steel buyers for the past three months. Since September 2020, it had been a seller’s market, with steel in short supply. Until lately, the mills have had […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week – our last of 2021 prior to the holiday break – shows the benchmark price for hot rolled finishing the year around $1,600 per ton ($80/cwt). That’s down another $70 per ton from last week and a total decline of $355 or 18% since peaking at […]
It’s not just domestic steel prices that are falling rapidly, so too are prices abroad. Case in point: South Korean steelmaker Hyundai. Its latest offer for hot-rolled coil for February-March shipment to the West Coast is $1,450 per ton DDP to Los Angeles-area ports. That’s down significantly from prior offers of $1,600-1,640 per ton, according […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Monitor, Dec. 15 Seasonal pressures are starting to temporarily slow demand for some steel products. For sheet, this weakness is adding to a monumental shift in supply fundamentals. For other products, an unseasonably warm start to December has allowed construction demand to remain stronger than normal. […]
We are quickly coming up to the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays. I hope everyone has been able to complete whatever shopping you need to do, sent out your cards and notes to your family and friends, and have ample snacks to get you through New Year’s Eve gatherings, football games, board or card games, […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB says its plate mill in Montpelier, Iowa, is not on for sale. “Regarding … the Iowa mill, SSAB currently has no plans to divest assets,” an SSAB Americas spokesperson said in an email to Steel Market Update. SSAB’s U.S. operations are comprised of two plate mills – one in Mobile, Ala., and […]
Flat Rolled = 57.1 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 60.2 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories rose again in November, according to Steel Market Update data. At the end of November, service centers carried 57.1 shipping days of supply on an adjusted basis, compared to 56.7 shipping days […]
Steel prices fell hard again this week. While the absolute numbers – down $60 per ton ($3 per cwt) on hot-rolled coil – might appear shocking at first glance, one could make the case that we’re being conservative. The development shouldn’t have come as a surprise to those who lived through past ups and downs. […]
Steel sheet prices fell again this week as mills continued reducing prices on shorter lead times and increased competition from both imports and other domestic producers. Published lead times are as low as 3-4 weeks for hot-rolled coil, for example, and sources reported orders being processed early. Some said mill offers declined substantially over the […]
Nucor has acquired a majority stake in California Steel Industries (CSI) for approximately $400 million in a deal that will significantly expand its presence on the West Coast. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker paid that amount for Brazilian iron ore miner Vale’s 50% stake in Fontana, Calif.-based CSI. It also acquired 1% of Japanese steelmaker’s JFE […]
Imports of less-expensive sheet and plate products continue to make their way into the U.S. market, a steady increase over the past six months as buyers continue to seek relief from record-high steel prices in the U.S. October Commerce Department data show imports’ shares of the U.S. flat products markets at their highest levels in the past […]
Total mill shipments of steel products edged up 1.4% in October to 8.619 million tons, following a 12.2% fall the month prior. Apparent supply slipped for the second straight month in October, down 2.2% on top of a 6.9% decline in September. October’s contraction marks the first month-on-month decrease in steel supply since apparent supply fell […]
U.S. steel exports fell 2% from September to October and are now at 719,000 net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce data. This is the lowest monthly export level in seven months. Recall that in March and June of this year, we saw the two highest monthly export levels in the last three […]
Final Census data shows that foreign steel imports in October totaled 2.74 million net tons, easing 16% from September’s 28-month high of 3.26 million tons. November import licenses through Dec. 6 were at 2.68 million tons, a 2% decline from October and down 18% compared to September. Total finished imports were 2.37 million tons in October, down 8% […]
Lead times for steel sheet and plate continued to decline over the past two weeks, shortening by an average of more than a week. The move correlates with a sharp downtrend in steel prices. Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market shows the average lead time for hot rolled orders nearing five weeks. Cold rolled […]
The pendulum has passed bottom and finally begun to swing the other way in price negotiations. Steel mills no longer hold a dominant bargaining position over spot buyers. That shift is consistent with the shortening lead times and declining prices reported by Steel Market Update. SMU asks buyers every two weeks whether mills are willing […]
Sheet and plate prices fell across the board this week on shorter lead times, import competition and increased spot availability from domestic mills. Declines for hot-rolled coil were generally steeper than those for value-added products. And while certain mills are trying to hold the line around $1,800 per ton, EAF producers were reported to be […]
Looking for floor plate for Christmas? What about hot-rolled coil for the New Year? You’re in luck. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s steel mill in Riverdale, Ill., can get floor plate to you by Dec. 25, or just 18 days from now. And most of its sheet mills can get you hot-rolled coil by Jan. 1, or 25 days […]
Algoma Steel Group Inc. has picked Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.p.A (Danieli) as the technology provider for their new electric arc (EAF) steelmaking facility set for operation in early 2024. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based steelmaker said that Danieli’s systems were the best choice for their new mill as they transition away from basic […]
SSAB Americas will supply the Mobile, Ala.-based shipbuilder Austal USA with steel for the construction of new U.S. Navy ships. The supplier partnership with the Alabama-based steelmaker follows Austal’s award from the U.S. Navy to build steel-hulled Towing, Salvage, and Rescue ships (T-ATS). The Navajo-class ships will be built in new steel shipbuilding facilities that […]
Evraz is a major supplier of plate and tubular goods for the traditional oil and gas markets. At the same time, it is a leader in the use of renewable energy, with an electric arc furnace mill in Pueblo, Colo., powered primarily by solar. Jefferson Shaw, vice president of strategy for Evraz North America, sees […]
New orders, production, employment, and imports grew in November. But prices fell, and delivery delays increased on tightening backlogs. That’s the takeaway from the Institute for Supply Management’s latest Manufacturing Report on Business. ISM’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 61.1% in November, up 0.3 percentage points from October and indicating continued expansion in the overall economy for the […]