JSW Steel USA’s electric-arc furnace (EAF) and slab caster are up and running, but the company has decided to keep the plant’s hot strip mill idle, a company spokesman said. JSW’s Mingo Junction, Ohio, flat-rolled steel mill will make slabs and will “continue with outside tolling,” he added. “Right now, the hot strip mill is […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from the […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate steel markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from […]
Steel buyers are considerably more confident of their near-term than their future prospects, according to the latest findings from Steel Market Update. Every two weeks, SMU asks buyers how they view their company’s chances for success in the current environment, as well as three to six months in the future. SMU’s Current Buyers Sentiment Index […]
Hyundai Steel has halted output on some production lines and will be approximately 1.5 months late with some shipments because of a “guerrilla strike,” according to a letter to U.S. customers. “Since the strike is still ongoing and the effect of the production suspension(s) are yet to be calculated, we cannot designate the accurate quantity […]
Lead times for spot orders of most steel products appear to have leveled off a bit in the past two weeks, based on Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market. All flat rolled and plate products registered small declines except for Galvalume, which was the only one to see an increase in delivery times […]
The mills are still comfortably in the driver’s seat when it comes to steel price negotiations. More than 90 percent of the buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week reported that the flat roll and plate mills are unwilling to talk price on steel orders. The only notable changes in the data this […]
Hot rolled steel prices reached another eyebrow-raising milestone this week, hitting an average of $1,300 per ton ($65/cwt), which is an all-time record even adjusting for inflation from the previous high of $1,070 per ton recorded by Steel Market Update in 2008. Flat rolled prices rose by an additional $10-30 per ton as the market […]
Hot rolled steel prices reached another eyebrow-raising milestone this week, hitting an average of $1,300 per ton ($65/cwt), which is an all-time record even adjusting for inflation from the previous high of $1,070 per ton recorded by Steel Market Update in 2008. Flat rolled prices rose by an additional $10-30 per ton as the market […]
FOB mills prices aren’t the only thing on the rise – so too are service center resale prices, import tags and ocean freight rates. Service centers are selling amongst each other for nearly $1,400 per ton ($70/cwt), and certain master distributors are charging that much if not more for hot band, market participants said. That’s […]
Nucor expects first-quarter 2021 earnings to be the highest quarterly profits in the company’s history, surpassing the previous record set in the third quarter of 2008. Earnings are expected to be in the range of $3.00 to $3.10 per diluted share. Strong steel demand and pricing are generating record results in the steel mills and […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Chinese prices continued to buck the global trend this week as further government meetings about preventing higher steel prices being passed on to consumers were taken seriously by the market and trading activity reduced. Prices in Europe and the U.S. are still rising, with U.S. plate […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The seasonal slowdown in the physical Chinese sheet market is ongoing, with inventories rising and demand falling w/w. However, concerns about limited supply during the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party continue to boost the Chinese HR coil futures market. Prices are still edging […]
Flat Rolled = 42.7 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 46.6 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled Flat rolled inventories at service centers edged up in February, largely because of lower shipments caused by harsh winter weather. Flat rolled inventories represented 42.7 shipping days of supply or 2.14 months of supply at the end of […]
Now that the presidential election is behind us, Congress has passed an historic stimulus package and there is light at the end of the pandemic tunnel as the vaccines proliferate, executives at Klöckner & Co. look forward to a stronger year for steel, especially for demand in the second half. “We expect the $1.9 trillion […]
I am going to spend some time discussing Steel Market Update this evening. I started SMU in August 2008 as a one-man show. The company has grown over the years both in size and scope. The sale of the company to CRU has turned out to be a blessing (I think for both companies), and […]
Service centers reported lower shipments during the month of February partially due to the harsh winter weather associated with “Snowmageddon.” Steel Market Update’s proprietary service center inventories and shipments report indicated 42.7 days of flat rolled inventories, which is up from 40 days of supply on hand at the end of January. Plate inventories stood […]
Service centers reported lower shipments during the month of February partially due to the harsh winter weather associated with “Snowmageddon.” Steel Market Update’s proprietary service center inventories and shipments report indicated 42.7 days of flat rolled inventories, which is up from 40 days of supply on hand at the end of January. Plate inventories stood […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products. As of January, imports’ share of total sheet products was 12.8%, up marginally from 12.3% in December. Although minimal, imports of sheet products have posted increases for two consecutive months after declining for seven consecutive months following the most recent peak of 16.6% […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Mill shipments of steel products rose 6.9% month on month in January, while apparent supply was up by nearly 13.5% during the same period. Despite the continued growth month over month since […]
Steel prices simply continue to move higher—as do the anxiety levels of many service center and manufacturing executives. Hot rolled steel set yet another record this week, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market, reaching an average of $1,270 per ton, topping the previous high mark set in 2008 by $200 per ton. […]
Steel prices simply continue to move higher—as do the anxiety levels of many service center and manufacturing executives. Hot rolled steel set yet another record this week, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market, reaching an average of $1,270 per ton, topping the previous high mark set in 2008 by $200 per ton. […]
After declining 8% in December, U.S. steel exports recovered by 9% in January to 671,000 tons, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. Of our six monitored product groups, the largest month-to-month increase went to cut-length plate products, up 17%. Galvanized exports increased 15% over December, and exports of coiled plates increased 13%. On […]
Nucor today announced board approval to build a tube mill in the Midwestern U.S. The $164 million project will be completed within two years and will capitalize on Nucor’s recent Midwest investments that include a plate mill, galvanizing line and hot roll expansion. A specific location for the new plant was not provided, but sources expect […]
Plate from South Korean steelmaker Hyundai is being offered for $980-1,020 per ton ($49-51/cwt) for third-quarter delivery to U.S. ports, according to market participants. The lower end of that range is representative of the delivered duty paid (DDP) price to Gulf Coast ports. The higher end of the range is for delivery to West Coast […]
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) is converting slabs for two domestic mills and one Brazilian steelmaker, according to market participants. ATI is re-rolling slabs for Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) as well as for U.S. steelmakers JSW Steel USA and NLMK USA, sources told Steel Market Update. The issue is relevant because the United Steelworkers […]
The U.S Department of Commerce has decided to continue antidumping duties on cut-to-length plate imported from China, Russia and Ukraine as part of the “sunset review” process. China will remain subject to dumping margins of up to 128.59%, Russia to dumping margins of as much as 185% and Ukraine to margins of up to 237.91%, […]
Last week, we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends analyses. Or, to put it another way (that the search engines don’t like), we conducted one of our surveys that we do ever other week. We invited over 500+ market participants, most of whom are steel buyers in the manufacturing and […]
January U.S. steel imports surpassed 2.42 million tons, according to final Census data released last week, up 62% from December due to the quarterly surge in semifinished product imports. Focusing on finished steel imports only, January figures are down from December by 7%. February import licenses are currently at 2.02 million tons through March 5 […]
Altos Hornos de México (AMSA) has resumed normal operations at its No. 5 blast furnace following a temporary outage last month, a company spokesman said. The No. 5 furnace had to stop for two days because of severe weather and a natural gas shortage. The Mexican flat-rolled steelmaker last month said that it had lost […]