The upturn in steel prices appears to have some staying power as both service centers and their manufacturer customers reported rising prices in the first half of July, according to findings from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire. As seen in the chart below, the majority of service centers (54 percent) said they are […]
Electric arc furnace minimills may have a cost advantage in steel production today, but there are still 19 traditional blast furnaces going strong in the United States. Blast furnaces dominate about three-fourths of global steelmaking, but only three steel producers in the U.S. currently are using BF or basic oxygen furnace technology: U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal […]
Flat rolled price increases seem to be slowing, based on what we learned from steel buyers this week. We did see some uptick, but only modest movement. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $550-$620 per ton ($27.50-$31.00/cwt) with an average of $585 per ton ($29.25/cwt) FOB […]
As with any mill announcement, be it price, changes in production or in the case of the U.S. Steel’s announcement about how they are going to handle contracts going forward, there are always mixed opinions from steel buyers and from the other steel mills. This afternoon, Steel Market Update, as an index provider, spent a […]
As with any mill announcement, be it price, changes in production or in the case of the U.S. Steel’s announcement about how they are going to handle contracts going forward, there are always mixed opinions from steel buyers and from the other steel mills. This afternoon, Steel Market Update, as an index provider, spent a […]
North America’s plate mills have announced their second round of price increases in less than three weeks, seeking another $40 per ton ($2/cwt). Nucor’s Plate Mill Group was the first to inform customers of the change on Friday, prompting similar announcements by most other mills on Monday. SSAB Americas advised customers it is increasing transaction […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: Last week, the Department of Commerce, for the first time, initiated an investigation into “circumvention” of antidumping and countervailing duty orders (AD/CVD) on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) from Taiwan and China. This follows determinations on CORE from Korea, Taiwan […]
Nearly 1,000 executives are registered with just two weeks to go before the start of the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We continue to see strong interest in this year’s event, which will be held in Atlanta on Aug. 26-28. Once again, the Georgia International Convention Center will be the home of this, our 9th […]
Year to date, June, total cut-to-length plate imports were down by 5.1 percent, but the Great Lakes region was down by 43.3 percent and the Gulf region was up by 201.4 percent. SMU now offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the very detailed look at […]
Steel Market Update offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to a detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. This report, on cut-to-length plate, is designed to plug the gap between the two. We will report data for regional imports for each of […]
Year to date, June, total coiled plate imports were down by 18.4 percent, but the Great Lakes region was down by 28.5 percent and the Gulf was up by 44.4 percent. SMU now offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to the very detailed look at volume […]
Steel Market Update offers a comprehensive series of import reports ranging from the first look at licensed data to a detailed look at volume by district of entry and source nation. This report, on coiled plate, is designed to plug the gap between the two. We will report data for regional imports for each of […]
Nucor’s Plate Mill Group informed customers on Friday that it is raising the price of carbon, alloy and heat-treated plate by $40 per ton ($2/cwt), effective immediately on all new and unconfirmed orders. This is Nucor’s second price hike on plate products in the past two weeks, following on a $40 increase July 26. Steel […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: JSW Steel USA, an affiliate of a major Indian steel producer, is the first company to challenge the Section 232 steel product exclusion procedure. The company filed a lawsuit July 30 naming the Department of Commerce as the principal […]
For the past three days, I have been studying the nominations of 21 young individuals who were nominated by their companies for the 2019 SMU NexGen Leadership Award, which this year is being sponsored by the Steel Manufacturers Association. The process has been exhilarating to say the least. I decided many years ago that as […]
For a steel industry that is hoping to collect higher prices on flat rolled and plate products, the mills seem surprisingly willing to negotiate, according to the findings from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire. Well, then again, when you announce $120 per ton of base price increases (or more, depending on what your […]
Lead times for steel delivery are slightly longer for hot rolled, galvanized and plate steels following price increases announced by the major mills. The average lead time for hot rolled is now approaching four and a half weeks, cold rolled nearly six weeks, and coated steels around six and a half weeks. Plate lead times […]
On the surface, steel imports appear to have increased substantially in July, based on license data from the Commerce Department. While the figures are preliminary, they put total imports for July at 3.5 million tons, a million tons above average. Skewing the data are the licenses for semi-finished imports, which registered about 1.6 million tons. […]
The U.S. exported 600,000 tons of steel in June, according to final Census data, a 5 percent slip from May, and down 34 percent from the same month one year ago. June exports were in line with the 2018 average (~610,000 tons), but down significantly compared to the past few years. This time last year, […]
Steel mills continue to press for higher prices and this week SMU found success on everything but hot rolled coil, which continues to lag behind the rest of the flat rolled market. We found that maintenance at Steel Dynamics and other mills over the next 30-45 days is weighing on some steel buyers. Here is […]
Declining steel prices and inventory destocking contributed to a guidance miss for Ryerson Holding Corp. Although shipments increased 0.6 percent to 623,000 tons quarter-to-quarter, net sales fell 2.1 percent to $2.1 billion. Net income was $16.4 million, down from $30 million in the previous quarter and $18 million a year ago. Earnings per diluted share dropped […]
I got a note from one of our readers today about the removal of the U.S. Steel blast furnace(s) and why the capacity utilization rates don’t reflect the change. The answer to that question is that as long as the furnace is still capable of producing (i.e. hot idle vs. being totally shut down cold) […]
Rising prime steel prices are bringing some welcome relief to sellers of secondary as well, but higher prices do not necessarily translate into higher margins. Sources tell Steel Market Update that conditions in the nonprime market have improved, but remain challenging. Nonprime or secondary steel includes coils that are rejected because they fail to meet […]
I was pleased that we got 21 quality nominations for our first SMU NexGen Leadership Award, sponsored by the Steel Manufacturers Association. I mention each of the canidates in an article earlier in tonight’s newsletter. I hope we are able to double the canidates next year as we strive as an industry to bring new […]
Price momentum has shifted dramatically in the steel spot market since mid-June following three price increase announcements by the major mills. Both service centers and their customers report rising prices in today’s marketplace. As seen in the chart below, 81 percent of the service centers polled by Steel Market Update just six weeks ago said […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores Sheet prices in the U.S. have continued to rise as both buyers and sellers have reported higher transactions. Overall volume reported has been steady over the past few weeks and near 2019 average levels. The overall price range remains wide, around $50 /s.ton. We anticipate that prices will continue […]
The long-awaited rebound in steel prices was the biggest story of the month in July. Steel Market Update’s Price Momentum Indicator was pointing firmly upward by the end of the month following three $40 price increase announcements by flat rolled steel producers. The benchmark price of hot rolled steel hit $580 per ton in July, […]
Domestic steelmakers appear to be collecting at least some of the price increases they have announced on flat rolled steel. Steel Market Update data shows prices for hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel up by $10 to $25 per ton over last week. The mills hope to do the same with steel plate, announcing […]
Following Nucor’s lead on Friday, ArcelorMittal USA, EVRAZ and SSAB Americas informed customers this week that they are raising the spot price of their plate products by a minimum of $40 per ton ($2/cwt), effective immediately. ArcelorMittal and EVRAZ informed customers verbally, SMU was told, while SSAB distributed a letter stating that the $40 per […]
Prices continued to move higher this week and the mills seem to have gotten a handle on price momentum both on flat rolled and plate. Whether this is temporary or not will depend on lead times and the ability of the steel mills to fill their order books. As one buyer told me this morning: […]