Finished steel imports into the United States rose by nearly 27% in the first eight months of the year. Census Bureau data reported by the American Iron and Steel Institute showed a 25.5% increase in total steel imports to 20.56 million tons, including a 26.9% increase in finished steel imports to 14.21 million tons, for […]
SSAB Americas has followed competitor Nucor in raising prices for steel plate by at least $80-200 per ton ($4-10 per cwt). The price hike is effective immediately for all new spot orders, the Mobile, Ala.-based steelmaker said in letters to customers on Friday, Sept. 24 The increase of $80 per ton (Canadian $100 per ton) applies […]
Nucor, in a leading move, announced that it was increasing plate prices along with the opening of its November order book. The price hike is $80 per ton ($4/cwt) for A36 plate and normalized product, and it is $200 per ton ($10/cwt) for quenched-and-tempered material. The increase – announced on Wednesday, Sept. 22 – marks at […]
The average hot rolled steel price saw another small dip, based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week, but cold rolled and galvanized continued to rise, as the market reacts unevenly to changing conditions. On the supply side, sources report better availability of spot tons from the domestic mills at the same […]
If you feel a chill in the air, it’s not just the first day of fall and cooler weather coming. We’ve noticed a cooling in market conditions – and it’s backed up by our survey results (which are colorful like fall leaves). Let’s not talk about prices, at least not directly. Let’s talk about lead times, […]
Nucor plans to build a new, $2.7 billion electric-arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill with annual capacity of three million tons per year in either Ohio, Pennsylvania or West Virginia. The facility is aimed at customers in the Midwest and Northeast as well as at the automotive industry, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said. “These important markets […]
U.S. domestic steel demand remains strong, but supplies have been catching up and are largely in balance. These dynamics are starting to show as steel prices have seen a slower rate of rise and may be near a peak. Lead times are also contracting, with hot rolled now below nine weeks. These changes are largely a […]
Mill shipments of steel products rose 2.0% in July to 8.7 million tons, following an increase of 1.7% the month prior. Apparent supply jumped 3.6% in July after a 6.0% increase the prior month. July marks the fifth consecutive month of gains after February’s double-digit contraction. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled and plate products from the mills have all seen notable declines this month, with the exception of Galvalume, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week. The average lead time for hot rolled is now less than nine weeks, down from more than ten […]
Flat Rolled = 51.6 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 54 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories continued to grow in August, while shipments rose from the lower levels seen in July. At the end of August, service centers carried 51.6 shipping days of flat rolled supply on an […]
Sheet prices continue to wobble with hot-rolled coiled prices actually declining, albeit modestly, for the first time in more than a year. The concern: that the market is at a peak – and perhaps heading down the other side. Hot rolled coil prices have been flat in prior weeks, but they have not declined since […]
What does the rapid advancement of solar energy mean for the steel industry? Solar has major implications, both for the steel it will consume and the energy it will provide. Without solar energy, steelmakers have no chance of reaching their zero-emissions goals over the next three decades. Even if steel mills can somehow figure out […]
The first rule of predicting steel prices in 2021 is you don’t predict steel prices. I broke that rule last month when I called a peak. I still think I was right about that. But timing is everything. And when exactly we hit that peak remains a matter of debate. Some market participants think we’re […]
U.S. steel exports declined 3% in July to 756,000 tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce data. Although down from the month prior, July levels remain relatively strong compared to recent months. Recall that June saw the second highest monthly export level in the last three years (778,000 tons), just behind the April 2021 high of 790,000 […]
Market momentum suggests that flat rolled steel prices are likely to continue moving up, at least in the short term, as hot rolled hit a new record high once again this week at an average of $1,955 per ton, up $20 over last week, according to SMU’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. […]
Final Census data shows that total foreign steel imports increased 5% from June to July, reaching 3.08 million tons. As stated in our preliminary import analysis, this is now the highest monthly import level of 2021, surpassing the previous month. The last time monthly import levels exceeded this rate was January 2020 when 3.16 million tons […]
In mid-August, when lead times registered their first significant decline of the year, some interpreted it as a sign the pendulum had finally begun to swing the other way. Lead times have long been expected to shorten as the mills’ ability to supply the market finally catches up with demand. But any predictions of a […]
Flat-rolled steel prices are again mixed. Hot rolled is up $20 per ton, cold rolled is unchanged, and coated products are down $20-25 per ton. (Plate – following mill price hike announcements – is up a sharp $105 per ton.) The mixed signals are not a sure sign of the market inflecting. And Hurricane Ida […]
Preliminary Census data shows that total foreign steel imports increased 3% from June to July, reaching 3.01 million tons. This is now the highest monthly import level of 2021, surpassing the previous month. The last time monthly import levels exceeded this rate was January 2020 when 3.16 million tons of steel entered the country. August import licenses are currently […]
We often talk a lot about hot-rolled coil prices in Final Thoughts. I’d like to take a deeper dive into coated prices today. It’s been an almost straight line up for an entire year for flat-rolled steel prices. And galvanized is no exception. Galvanized base prices are at $2,070 per ton ($103.50 per cwt). That’s […]
Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) has called off its deal with service center Grupo Villacero, according to regulatory filings in Mexico. AHMSA said it had scrapped the agreement with Alianza Minero Metalúrgica Internacional because of alleged “legal irregularities.” Alianza is a group of investors led by Grupo Villacero President Julio Villarreal, per Mexican […]
Total steel imports into the United States jumped by more than 20% in the first seven months of the year, versus the same period in 2020, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute, based on preliminary Census data. Foreign steel, including billet and slabs, totaled 17.7 million net tons for a 20.6% year-over-year increase. Finished […]
At least two U.S. plate mills – SSAB Americas and Evraz North America – have followed Nucor in raising plate prices. SSAB has increased prices by $85 per ton (Canadian $105 per ton) for commercial, non-quenched-and-tempered (Q&T) product and by $170 per ton (C$215 per ton) for Q&T material. “These increases are to be applied to […]
Nucor might be wrapping up an approximately $4-billion expansion campaign, but it has no intentions of stopping there, the company’s top executive said. “We’re going to be a growth company. … And we’ve got the balance sheet to continue to invest,” President and CEO Leon Topalian said. Topalian declined to specify where the company might […]
Steel Market Update will not be updating sheet and plate prices during our Steel Summit conference in the week of Aug. 23. The SMU staff will be busy with the conference, and many of the usual data providers will be in attendance at the event in Atlanta. SMU will resume its weekly price updates the […]
Nucor – the largest steelmaker in the U.S. – in a leading move announced that it was increasing plate prices along with the opening of its October order book. The price hike is $85-165 per ton ($4.25-8.25/cwt) depending on the product. The increase – announced on Friday, Aug. 20 – marks at least the fourth consecutive month […]
Roughly half of the steel executives responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week believe the infrastructure legislation now working its way through Congress will have a significant impact on steel demand in the next year or two. The other half are unsure if the two parties in Washington can reach agreement even […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB said it has produced the world’s first-fossil free steel and delivered a trial order to automaker Volvo. “It’s possible to … significantly reduce the global carbon footprint of the steel industry. We hope that this will inspire others to also want to speed up the green transition,” SSAB President and CEO Martin Lindqvist […]
With the exception of coated products, lead times for delivery of flat rolled and plate steel have shortened by a week or more – the first significant decline this year and a possible sign that rising steel prices are losing momentum. Lead times for spot orders of steel have extended continuously since the market bottomed last […]
Lead times have shortened noticeably based on Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week. But don’t read too much into that one data point. Other factors point to more of the same for steel prices, at least for a while. As reported elsewhere in this issue, lead times appear to have shortened by a […]