The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly taken a toll on the attitudes of many industry executives. The pessimism is evident in some of the responses to polling conducted during the SMU Virtual Steel Summit this week. We asked the hundreds of executives on the site: Where do you believe steel demand will be at this time next year compared […]
Prices for flat rolled steel products moved up by as much as $20 per ton in the past week, while plate increased by $10, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. SMU’s Price Momentum is higher on sheet products, but Neutral on plate products, as the plate mills’ price […]
Many steel buyers have been anticipating a price increase, and the plate mills were the first to make a move. ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor and SSAB all announced changes to their plate prices, but not in the typical lock-step fashion. Nucor informed customers on Friday that it was setting a minimum base price of $28/cwt ($560 […]
Tomorrow we finally go LIVE! We will open the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference officially at 10 AM ET. This being an unusual year, we came up with an unusual opening, and one that I think you will not want to miss. Some quick facts – we are around 870 registrations as of Sunday, Aug. […]
Today we finally go LIVE! The platform is now open. There is content beginning at 9 AM this morning. We will open the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference officially at 10 AM ET. This being an unusual year, we came up with an unusual opening, and one that I think you will not want to […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service U.S. sheet steel prices hit their lowest point of the year on Aug. 12 and are slated to rise as steel consumption has been increasing. Steel mill capacity utilization reached 61.5 percent in the week ended Aug. 15, up from 60.4 percent the […]
Last week Steel Market Update adjusted all of the flat rolled price momentum indicators from Neutral to Higher. We made the decision to move hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume to higher due to prices already beginning to track up from the low levels achieved over the past couple of weeks. We also made […]
It has been almost 12 months in the making and, due to the pandemic, one of the most carefully crafted agendas ever presented for an SMU Steel Summit Conference. Here is the final agenda for this year’s “virtual” conference. All times referenced are Eastern Time. The programs on the agenda prior to 10:00 AM are […]
It has been almost 12 months in the making and, due to the pandemic, one of the most carefully crafted agendas ever presented for an SMU Steel Summit Conference. Here is the final agenda for this year’s “virtual” conference. All times referenced are Eastern Time. The programs on the agenda prior to 10:00 AM are […]
Flat Rolled = 55.5 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 54.7 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled Service centers pared down flat-rolled steel supply in July to 55.5 shipping days of supply, according to preliminary data, down from 62.5 in June’s adjusted data. Inventories represented 2.52 months of supply in July, down from 2.84 in […]
U.S. steel exports in June increased 20 percent from the prior month’s 24-year low. Now standing at 423,000 tons, June exports are 29 percent lower than levels one year prior, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. The 2020 monthly average for exports has decreased to 522,000 tons, whereas the first six months of […]
Mill shipments and supply of sheet products began to turn around in June. This analysis based on steel mill shipment data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and import-export data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The analysis summarizes total steel supply by product from 2008 through June 2020 and year-on-year changes. The […]
The analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source nation. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about local import volume is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis is to describe in detail what is going on in a […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows hot rolled offers typically in the $460-$480 range. But sources tell us actual transactions are occurring anywhere from $480 down to $400, depending on volumes and other considerations. Thus, SMU puts the current benchmark price for hot rolled at $440 per ton, down $10 from […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows flat rolled steel prices firming up a bit as demand slowly recovers from the coronavirus disruptions. SMU puts the current benchmark price for hot rolled at $465 per ton, up from $440 last week. SMU’s Price Momentum Indicators remain at Neutral, though the market may […]
Four days to go… This will be our 10th SMU Steel Summit Conference. Over those 10 years the SMU team (and now CRU team) has built the most successful steel conference outside of mainland China. This year’s conference will be either the second or third most attended event we have had since the beginning. I don’t think we […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive subscribers. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. July was the ninth consecutive month where imports were down by more than 20 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the latest Commerce Department data. […]
Last week we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends analyses. Some of the information gathered was shared in Thursday’s and again in tonight’s issue (see above). However, we share in our newsletter only a small fraction of the information that is being collected. Our data providers and Premium members can […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel from the mills were at their shortest in the week of April 30 as orders dried up due to the coronavirus. Since then lead times have extended by about half a week, but saw only minor fluctuations in June and July. Currently, lead times for hot […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel are stretching out as demand improves and the mills get busier. Lead times for hot rolled and plate steels have extended past four weeks, while lead times for cold rolled and coated are now longer than six weeks. Lead times are an indicator of steel demand—longer […]
Steel buyers maintain their strong position in price negotiations with steel makers as demand slowly recovers from the coronavirus. The vast majority of those responding to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week report that the mills are willing to compromise on price to win orders. Nearly all the hot rolled buyers (91 percent) said the […]
Negotiations between buyers and the mills appear to be tightening as steelmakers attempt to firm up prices in response to improving demand. Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week shows significantly more mills holding the line in price talks on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel orders compared to earlier in August. About […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor. The U.S. Midwest sheet market was somewhat mixed this week as prices for both HR and HDG coil fell w/w, while CR coil rose by $3 /s.ton. The price of HR coil fell $5 /s.ton w/w and is at its lowest level since the prior […]
A challenge by JSW Steel USA to the U.S. Court of International Trade regarding the denial by Commerce of its slab exclusion requests has prompted CIT to order Commerce to provide further explanation of the steps taken in the denial process. “Remand of all twelve exclusion requests is warranted because Commerce’s denials are devoid of […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market over the past two days shows that nearly 70 percent of steel buyers believe prices are near a bottom, and the numbers support that view, showing little variation from last week. SMU puts the benchmark average price for hot rolled steel at $450 per ton, unchanged from last […]
As if a pandemic wasn’t enough, now I have to muddle through a tropical storm (it was a hurricane but lost some of its punch overnight on Saturday). Fortunately, Florida residents consider tropical storms as nothing more than a nuisance. I have my fingers crossed that we don’t pick up a hurricane until after our […]
Metals processor and distributor Ryerson Holding Corp. recorded revenue of $772 million for the second quarter of 2020, a plunge of 35.9 percent from a year ago and 23.6 percent sequentially. Shipments fell 25.8 percent to 462,000 tons. Average selling price declined 13.6 percent to $1,671 per ton. The company reduced warehousing, delivery, general and […]
Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian has had quite the year, taking the reins of Nucor in January and then steering the company through the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike Nucor’s blast furnace competitors, the EAF-based steelmaker was able to continue operations relatively unabated during the past two quarters. “Our ability to continue operating, along with proactive […]
Nucor President and CEO Leon Topalian has had quite the year, taking the reins of Nucor in January and then steering the company through the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike Nucor’s blast furnace competitors, the EAF-based steelmaker was able to continue operations relatively unabated during the past two quarters. “Our ability to continue operating, along with proactive […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows flat rolled and plate steel prices falling by a further $10, taking the benchmark hot rolled price down to $450 per ton. Most respondents expressed doubts that the price increase announced last week by the integrated mills will gain any traction, especially since the minimills […]