Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel extended by more than a week during last year’s fourth quarter, but so far this year have been fairly flat. The average lead time for orders of hot roll is now a bit less than five weeks, cold roll around six and a half weeks […]
Price negotiations between steelmakers and steel users have loosened considerably on most steel products. Buyers report some new wiggle room in talks over spot prices. In the hot rolled segment, nearly three out of four of the steel buyers responding to SMU’s questionnaire this week (74 percent) said the mills are now more willing to […]
Steel prices can’t seem to gain any traction, as hot rolled, cold rolled and plate saw small declines this past week, while coated steel prices saw a small uptick. Steel Market Update’s Price Momentum Indicators remain pointing higher, but with less confidence about the trend. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled […]
If you want to get a better feel for what you can learn and the value of our Steel 101 workshop, listen to what a couple of our most recent attendees had to say: “This is a great workshop where the ABC’s of the steel business are spelled out quite clearly, even for someone new […]
If you want to get a better feel for what you can learn and the value of our Steel 101 workshop, listen to what a couple of our most recent attendees had to say: “This is a great workshop where the ABC’s of the steel business are spelled out quite clearly, even for someone new […]
The question I am getting right now is, “Where is price momentum headed?” Good question. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward higher prices over the next 30 days. However, we are not blind, and we have seen prices stall here at the beginning of the year. The way I am looking at […]
It’s Super Bowl Sunday! I will try to keep my comments short so we can all enjoy the game and worry about the steel markets in the morning. On Thursday and Friday of this past week I was in Ponte Vedra, Fla., as I was speaking to the Steel Manufacturers Association. The SMA are the […]
The recent rise in flat rolled mill spot prices have, in Steel Market Update’s opinion based on our survey analysis, been supported by a rise in service center spot prices to their end customers. However, the analysis of last week’s flat rolled and plate steel market trends survey indicates that support for higher prices has […]
Demand is looking good for the steel industry this year, especially in the construction sector, said panel members on the Steel Manufacturers Association media call today. Dave Sumoski, Nucor Executive Vice President – Merchant and Rebar Products, noted that construction is a major area for Nucor. The market for steel bar is very strong with […]
By Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Steel Plate Products Market Outlook The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has led to Chinese New Year holidays being extended and transportation restrictions introduced in order to contain the spread of the virus. Steel demand is normally weak during this period, but production continues as usual. Every day of […]
Except for a small decline in coated products, steel prices remained largely unchanged in the past week, according to Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market. While SMU’s Price Momentum Indicators continue to point higher, we’ll be watching closely to see if the uptrend in prices is losing steam. Here is how we see […]
SSAB Americas posted a loss of $23 million (-222 million SEK) for the fourth quarter of 2019 due to lower realized steel prices and maintenance costs associated with a planned outage in Mobile, Ala. Heavy plate demand was good in the first half of the year, but weakened in the fourth quarter due to inventory […]
JSW Steel USA reported dismal results for the third quarter of 2020, but the company expects losses will be reduced substantially in the fourth quarter. JSW Steel – Baytown produced 70,479 metric tons of plate and 14,669 MT of pipes during the third quarter of 2020, reported JSW Steel India. The plate mill operated at […]
Lead times for hot rolled and cold rolled steel have flattened out, seeing little change in the past month, as measured by Steel Market Update. Lead times for steel delivery are an indicator of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mill. Lead times in general are about a […]
Negotiations between steelmakers and steel buyers on new spot orders appear to have loosened slightly on hot rolled and cold rolled, but not to levels we saw in late 3rd quarter 2019. In the hot rolled segment, the majority of buyers (58 percent) said the mills are now more willing to negotiate prices on HR, […]
I have been spending time looking at market momentum, lead times (real, not from our survey), who is buying and who is not (and why), and what the market should be concentrating on over the next couple of months (not just today). I am going to start with comments I got from a couple of […]
Steel prices, which have been trending upward for the past two months, gave a bit back this past week, according to Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market. Whether this is a change of direction or just a brief pause remains to be seen, but SMU’s Price Momentum Indicator continues to point higher. Here […]
2019 was a challenge for steel suppliers, with both demand and pricing on a downward slope for the first three quarters of the year. Although it’s still early, there are signs 2020 could prove to be a better year for the steel industry. Steel mills, and the service centers that process and distribute their products, […]
Steel Market Update’s analysis of flat rolled and plate inventories and shipments for the month of December: Flat Rolled = 62.9 Shipping Days of Supply Plate Steels = 60.4 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled Service center flat rolled steel inventories increased 5.7 percent month on month while shipments fell 10.1 percent, according to adjusted […]
On Monday, we will begin our mid-January flat rolled and plate steel market trends questionnaire, and by the end of the week we will publish our analysis. Our Premium level members will be able to review our analysis, which will be presented in a PowerPoint presentation on Friday. Those who participate in this week’s questionnaire […]
Steel Market Update’s 31st Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals Workshop, set for Merrillville, Ind., on March 31 and April 1, is now taking registrations. We will be working out of the Hilton Garden Inn in Merrillville, a short drive away from the NLMK Portage steel mill, which we will tour on […]
Steel Market Update’s 31st Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals Workshop, set for Merrillville, Ind., on March 31 and April 1, is now taking registrations. We will be working out of the Hilton Garden Inn in Merrillville, a short drive away from the NLMK Portage steel mill, which we will tour on […]
The price of hot rolled steel topped the $600 per ton mark this week, cresting a psychological barrier that many saw as unreachable two months ago. Opinions are split on how much higher HR can go, and how long it can stay above the $600 level. Prices for all flat rolled products increased by another […]
The U.S. exported 601,290 tons of steel in November, according to final Census data, a 15 percent decrease from October and down 2 percent from the same month one year ago. This is the lowest level seen since June 2019. November exports were 3.5 percent below the 2019 average of 623,059 tons, and remain significantly […]
I spent today working on two projects. First was contacting and communicating with flat rolled and plate steel buyers in order to get a sense of the current spot price offers/transactions and where the markets are heading over the near term. The second project was working on the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. As with […]
I spent today working on two projects. First was contacting and communicating with flat rolled and plate steel buyers in order to get a sense of the current spot price offers/transactions and where the markets are heading over the near term. The second project was working on the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference. As with […]
December’s licensed import volume for rolled steel products was the lowest since December 2009. Year over year, total rolled product imports in December were down by 27.8 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 27.4 percent decrease in November, 17.7 percent decrease in October and 15.5 percent decline in September on […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update have reports available on our website that break out the import tonnage into district of entry and source nation for six sheet and plate product categories. This report takes the total national tonnage of hot rolled and breaks it down into product detail. Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) […]
Lead times for coated steels and steel plate have extended a bit, but lead times for orders of hot rolled and cold rolled have seen little change in the past few weeks. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mill. […]
Negotiations between steelmakers and steel buyers were mixed in early January, depending on the product. Responses to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week indicate that talks over price have tightened considerably for plate, while loosening slightly for hot rolled and cold rolled orders. In the hot rolled segment, the majority of buyers (56 […]