U.S. steel exports in January totaled 636,566 net tons (577,484 metric tons), up 22.6 percent from December, but down 23.4 percent from levels one year ago. Although up over the previous month, keep in mind that total exports for December 2018 were at a 16+ year low. The total January export figure is above the […]
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal recommended on Wednesday that five of seven provisional steel safeguards, imposed by the government following the imposition of Section 232 tariffs by the U.S., be removed. A CITT inquiry concerning the importation into Canada of heavy plate, concrete reinforcing bar, energy tubular products, hot-rolled sheet, pre-painted steel, stainless steel wire, […]
We stuck in a couple of Premium level articles in tonight’s issue to give our Executive members an opportunity to review the level of detail we put into Premium products. With our new pricing we have exceptional membership levels on both Premium and Executive products, especially for those of you who would like to share […]
April saw steel prices lose momentum as hot rolled dipped to an average of $662, cold rolled to $803 and galvanized G90 to less than $900 per ton. Even plate, which has been in tight supply, has now moderated to around $964 per ton from prices near or above $1,000 earlier in the year. Steel […]
I am going to be in the office for the next couple of weeks. My next trip is not until the 15th of April. We have quite a bit going on with a new flat rolled and plate steel market trends analysis (survey) starting first thing Monday morning. If you receive an invitation, please take […]
Nucor has announced that it will build a new steel plate mill in Brandenburg, Ky. The $1.35 billion mill will be capable of producing 1.2 million tons of steel plate products per year. The mill is scheduled to be operational in 2022, pending permit and regulatory approvals. The plant will have the ability to produce 97 […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores In the U.S., plate prices rose $16 /s.ton after falling by $34 /s.ton last week. Prices here started to fall back from their high levels in February, though mills announced a $40 s/.ton price increase, which at best may only stabilize prices at this lower level unless seasonal demand […]
Since hitting an eight-year low in December of just 1,893,568 tons, imports of steel into the United States have been up and down, according to Commerce Department data. Final January imports jumped to 3,478,865 net tons, up 83.7 percent over December—a nearly 1.6 million ton increase. Then in February, based on license data for the […]
Nucor has announced that it will build a new steel plate mill in Brandenburg, Ky. The $1.35 billion mill will be capable of producing 1.2 million tons of steel plate products per year. The mill is scheduled to be operational in 2022, pending permit and regulatory approvals. The plant will have the ability to produce 97 […]
Hot rolled is the weakest product and our HRC average priced dropped due to lower prices collected out of two minimills. We understand one mill is offering even lower numbers for large tonnage, but we did not include that in our numbers for this evening as we want to speak directly with the mill to […]
Hot rolled prices were up $5 per ton this past week to $690 per ton. The averages continue to be negatively impacted by a couple of aggressive mills. We saw a little erosion on cold rolled and the lower end of the galvanized range. Galvalume was unchanged. Plate steel prices saw the gains measured last […]
Mexico has renewed the 15 percent tariff on imports of iron and steel products from countries with which it does not have a free-trade agreement. The tariffs cover 186 products and were originally introduced in 2015 to protect domestic producers from Asian imports. The newest renewal cites the “crisis facing the international steel market caused […]
Steel Market Update asked: With steel imports dropping and domestic mills running close to capacity, are you concerned about where steel prices may go over the next few months? Surprisingly, nearly two out of three respondents to SMU’s market trends questionnaire earlier this week said they are unconcerned about a big swing in prices. Their […]
Over the next couple of years there will be approximately 20 million tons of capacity built in North America. Most of us focus on the capacity being built by Nucor, Steel Dynamics, JSW USA and others. What is overlooked is the capacity being built just south of the U.S. border in Mexico. In an effort […]
Mills are still willing to negotiate on price, especially on hot rolled, even as they work to collect the two $40 per ton price increases they announced in January and February. In every product category except plate, the majority of respondents to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week reported mills willing to talk price. Most […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel saw little additional change in the past two weeks after moving out by a few days following the mill price increase announcements in January and February. Hot rolled lead times now average a bit more than four weeks, cold rolled more than six weeks, plate six […]
Each month, Steel Market Update produces an import analysis by region for two of the six flat rolled product groups (HRC, CRC, HDG, OMC, CTL plate and coiled plate). This month we are focusing on plate products. The intent of these regional updates is to bridge the gap between our monthly license data summaries and […]
Each month, Steel Market Update produces an import analysis by region for two of the six flat rolled product groups (HRC, CRC, HDG, OMC, cut to length (CTL) plate and coiled plate). This month we are focusing on plate products. The intent of these regional updates is to bridge the gap between our monthly license […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories through December. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through December and in 12 months through December for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic […]
I am traveling this week. I have been in Monterrey, Mexico, where I visited the Roberto Rocca Industrial School in Pesqueria in the state of Nuevo Leon (just outside of Monterrey). I also visited the Ternium Industrial Center, which is already a major rolling facility and where Ternium is expanding capacities dramatically so the mill […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices saw relatively little movement over the past week. Steel Market Update leaves its hot rolled and galvanized prices unchanged, with small declines reported in cold rolled, Galvalume and plate. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $690-$720 per ton ($34.50/cwt-$36.00/cwt) with […]
Are steel prices witnessing a dead cat bounce or the beginning of a bullish reversal? The market appears split on the feline vs. bovine analogy. In other words, there is a huge divergence of thought on what is going to happen to steel prices over the next three or four months. The benchmark price of […]
“Your tank broke down? No problem, we’ll just 3-D print a steel replacement part.” Someday this scenario may be a reality for U.S. Army technicians in the field. Researchers at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory are working on a process that will take powdered steel and transform it with lasers […]
I will be traveling all week as I head to Monterrey, Mexico, to tour the Ternium training facilities and steel mill. I will also be meeting with Cesar Jimenez, the CEO for Ternium Mexico, to discuss the new capacity they have coming onstream over the next 12-24 months. We are also working with Ternium to […]
Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium-level content on flat rolled imports with Executive-level members. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, contact info@steelmarketupdate.com. Finally, the detailed steel trade data has been released for December. Again, we apologize for our lack of trade reports in the last few months. August was the […]
This is a report that we provided monthly through August 2018 data. The USITC then revamped their DataWeb and the new version didn’t work. Our SMU staff worked with the USITC to fix the problem, then the government shut down. The March 2019 data is the first available that has been released on time since […]
Total foreign steel imports are on the decline as license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce has February imports at 2.5 million net tons. Based on license data through March 12, it appears March imports will also be in that same vicinity. To put this into perspective, imports for February 2018 were 2,478,000 net […]
Total foreign steel imports are on the decline as license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce has February imports at 2.5 million net tons. Based on license data through March 12, it appears March imports will also be in that same vicinity. To put this into perspective, imports for February 2018 were 2,478,000 net […]
Steel imports are trending up in March as license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce shows total imports tracking towards 2.9 million net tons–above the 3-month and 12-month moving averages. Based on license data through March 19, both finished and semifinished steels (mostly slabs purchased by domestic mills) are up significantly over February levels. […]
Flat rolled prices moved a bit over the past week, while plate prices remained unchanged. Benchmark hot rolled was up $10 per ton as both the low and high end moved by $0.50/cwt. Hot rolled continues to be the weakest of the flat rolled products. The strongest are coated steels with a number of data […]