After over a month of increases, steel prices paused this week for some of the products tracked by SMU. Three of our price indices continued to climb, while two held steady from the prior week.
Manufacturing activity exhibited slight to modest increases across a majority of districts. However, manufacturers expressed concerns over the potential impact of looming trade policy changes between late January and February.
The majority of the steel buyers responding to our latest market survey reported that domestic mills are not open to negotiating prices on new orders this week.
In the final week of February, SMU polled steel and scrap executives to gather their insights on the current state of the scrap market as well as future projections.
Steel prices climbed across the board this week, with every steel product tracked by SMU rising to multi-month highs.
Input costs have been driven higher by tighter supplies and restricted flows after a tough winter. Could rising demand from mills fuel an extended rally into Q2? Shredder feed has been strained as shredders try to fill backlogs. And shredded prices could jump by $50 per gross ton (gt) this month, some suggest. It's a similar story with prime grades. That's because industrial generation is down, and hot-rolled coil production is picking up.
US plate prices have moved up at a sharp clip over the past three weeks. The gains come on the heels of a unified mill pricing blitz, bolstered by the threat of looming tariffs and the expectation of sharply higher scrap prices. Prices hit their lowest level in more than four years in late January, […]
The price spread between stateside-produced CR and imports reached its widest margin in over a year.
Four weeks have passed since the last article from Rock Trading Advisors on January 30. The paint has dried, and Midwest HRC futures have exploded higher in response to President Trump’s declaration of impending 25% tariffs on all imported steel products. The rolling 2nd month CME Midwest HRC future erupted through the top end of its downtrend, one that dates back to the peak of the winter 2022 rally. It also broke out of its narrow range seen dating back to June of last year.
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices continued to rally in the US this week, quickly outpacing price gains seen abroad. The result: US hot band prices have grown widely more expensive than imports on a landed basis. The premium US HR tags carry over HR prices abroad now stands at a 14-month high. SMU’s average domestic HR […]
Prices for six of the seven steelmaking raw materials SMU tracks are increased from January to February, according to our latest analysis.
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, inventories, imports and evolving market events.
Evraz North America (NA) has followed Nucor and SSAB with a plate price increase of its own: up $160 per short ton (st). The increase was effective immediately for all new orders of carbon, high-strength low-alloy, and normalized and quenched-and-tempered plate products, as well as for hot-rolled coil, the steelmaker said in a letter to […]
As of Monday, Feb. 24, the steelmaker's list price for HR stood at $860 per short ton (st), up $40/st from last week. The company has increased HR prices by $110/st over the past four weeks, according to SMU's mill price announcement calendar.
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $160 per short ton (st) with the opening of its April order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the increase was effective with orders received on Feb. 24 in a letter to customers dated the same day.
Buyers are optimistic for a strong scrap market in March, driven by limited scrap inflows from severe weather disruptions and increasing mill demand.
Cleveland-Cliffs said it will open its April order book for spot material at $900 per short ton (st). The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the increase was necessary because of “rapidly changing market conditions” in a letter to customers dated Friday, Feb. 21.
Some of you have told me that the current market feels about as crazy as early 2021 when demand snapped back after the initial outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Others have said it might be more like late February/early March 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine – and, in the process, caused […]
Sheet and plate prices surged higher this week on a wave of what some called “panic buying” following the Trump administration’s announcement of stricter Section 232 measures last week.
Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil for a fourth consecutive week.
The price spread between US-produced cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore CR products widened again in the week ended Feb. 14, as prices for US product accelerated ahead of imports. Domestic CR coil tags jumped week on week (w/w), while offshore markets moved higher at a slower pace. The result? The US premium over imports widened […]
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices rose further in the US this week, while tags abroad saw minor gains. The result: the margin US hot band holds over imports on a landed basis increased.
Each of the steel product prices tracked by SMU saw significant increases this week. All four of our sheet price indices rose by $30-50 per short ton (st) on average. Plate prices popped $60/st compared to the week prior.
Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $790 per short ton (st) on Monday, Feb. 10 – a $15/st bump vs. last week. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company has raised its weekly CSP by $40/st over the past three weeks after maintaining tags at $750/st since Nov. 12, according to SMU’s […]
Evraz, SSAB Americas, and Nucor have all followed up on their initial price bumps at the opening of their March order books with a second round of increases.
Steel mill negotiation rates have declined in each of our last two surveys; this week’s rate is the lowest recorded since March 2024.
SSAB Americas has again followed Nucor’s lead, raising plate prices by $80 per short ton (st). The increase is effective immediately for all new non-contract orders, as the steelmaker stated in a letter to customers on Wednesday, Feb. 5. “SSAB Americas reserves the right to re-quote any open offers not confirmed by an SSAB order […]
SMU’s steel price indices rose across the board this week. Sheet prices increased as much as $35 per short ton (st) compared to last week, while our average plate price ticked up by$10/st.
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group was raising prices for as-rolled, discrete, cut-to-length, and normalized plate “in response to current market conditions.” The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Tuesday, Feb. 4, after market close, that it would be seeking an increase of $40 per short ton (st). Nucor […]
SMU’s Monthly Review provides a summary of important steel market metrics for the previous month. Our latest report includes data updated through January 31st.