Tag: prices

Oct. 26 was my previous Steel Market Update contribution. The night before, Ford and the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced they had reached a tentative agreement for a new labor contract.

Algoma Steel’s CEO Michael Garcia joined SMU Managing Editor Michael Cowden for a Community Chat on Wednesday, Nov. 29. A great discussion was had on topics ranging from plate pricing to decarbonization efforts, raw materials strategies, and more.

US Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continue to move higher following repeated mill increases. The trend has caused domestic tags to become far more expensive than imported offshore hot band.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand, inventories, imports, and what people were talking about in the market.

US scrap prices are expected to rise in December, industry sources told SMU.

Nucor Corp. announced in a letter to customers on Tuesday afternoon that its plate mill group would increase as-rolled discrete plate, normalized, and quenched-and-tempered plate by $40 per ton ($2 per cwt).

I want to address a few things in this 'Final thoughts': the latest SMU survey results, the plate market, and the potential sale of U.S. Steel.

SSAB Americas has announced plans to increase plate prices by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt), with the opening of its January 2024 order book. The price hike applies equally to as-rolled, normalized, quenched-and-tempered, and wide cut-to-length plate products. It is effective immediately on all new, non-contract orders, the company said in a […]

SMU’s Current and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices have both increased, based on our most recent survey data as of Wednesday, Nov. 22.

Sheet prices continued to move higher this week on the heels of mill price hikes and extending lead times.

The increase in steel imports from September to October was higher than license applications had suggested earlier this month.

The percentage of steel buyers saying mills were willing to negotiate spot pricing has fallen for all products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.

Nucor aims to increase base prices on all new sheet orders, effective immediately. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker seeks at least $1,100 per ton ($55 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil (HRC), according to a Monday letter to customers.

Flat-rolled steel prices were in a holding pattern ahead of Thanksgiving.

Galvanized steel buyers reported a seller's market with steady demand, long lead times, and strong pricing on this month’s call of the Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) association.

Prices of steelmaking raw materials are largely up over the over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis.

Turkish scrap import prices increased for a third consecutive week.

There has been almost an assumption that US mills would get the $950-1,000 per ton ($47.50-50 per cwt) they were seeking on HR base and $1,150-2,000 per ton ($57.50-60 per cwt) for cold-rolled and coated base. Recall that Cliffs initially announced an increase and said it was seeking $1,000 per minimum for hot-rolled coil. Nucor […]

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized sheet base prices has been hovering near $200 per net ton since late July, according to SMU’s latest analysis.

Surging US sheet prices and expanding lead times are making imports more attractive. The automotive workers’ strike is essentially over, and domestic US sheet prices have rocketed higher alongside lead times. There is little to suggest that the momentum of these price increases will slow over the next month or two, and thus imports have […]

The importation of basic pig iron has allowed EAF steelmakers to implement thin-slab casting technology to make drawing-quality flat-rolled sheet over the last 30 years.

The US plate market has been rather quiet over the past couple of weeks since Nucor Corp. caught many off guard with a $140-per-ton price cut.

New York's manufacturing activity saw an increase in November, according to the most recent Empire State Manufacturing Survey.

In the dynamic landscape of the steel futures market, a confluence of factors is shaping the current narrative.

US Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices continue to surge on the heels of mill increases. They have become significantly more expensive than prices for hot band imported from offshore. Domestic hot band tags moved higher for a seventh consecutive week. Imports have seen only marginal gains over the same period, according to SMU’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis.

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index has moved into growth territory after seeing steady improvement since mid-September, according to our latest survey data.

Flat Rolled = 52.6 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 61.8 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel inventories decreased for a third consecutive month in October. At the end of October, service centers carried 52.6 shipping days of supply, according to adjusted SMU data. This is down from 53.3 shipping […]

Spot prices for steel sheet shot upward again this week on the heels of steep price increases announced by domestic mills last week. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price rose to $940 per ton ($47 per cwt) on average, up $75 per ton from last week and up nearly $300 per ton from a 2023 low of […]

Domestic scrap prices rose in November month over month for all grades that SMU covers, market sources said.

Cleveland-Cliffs announced it would seek a minimum base price of $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil (HRC) on Nov. 7. Nucor said a day later that it was aiming for $950 per ton. Why didn’t Nucor follow Cliffs up to $1,000 ton? I think there might be some possible answers in our […]