What a difference a month makes. There are a few full bulls left in the room, but their numbers are dwindling. We’ll release results of our full steel market survey tomorrow afternoon. I took a sneak peak at the data on Thursday. And more people than I expected think that US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices will be in the $700s per short ton (st) two months from now. Vanishingly few think prices will be above $1,000/st in mid-April.
It’s no secret that HRC futures have been particularly volatile over the past several years. The most recent instance was the outsized break in the March futures contract early this week. For companies procuring raw material in anticipation of higher prices or even to get ahead on future purchase orders from customers, understanding the relative price of that raw material versus the hot-rolled coil futures curve is important.
US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices moved lower again this week, remaining largely on a downtrend since mid-January. The result has caused domestic tags to lessen their price premium over imported products week on week (w/w).
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices narrowed further this month, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.
Mill lead times for flat-rolled steel were mostly stable over the past two weeks. With several mills slow to come out of outages and upgrades, cold rolled and coated lead times have been holding up better than hot rolled.
Friedman Industries posted lower earnings in its fiscal third quarter but was upbeat on the next quarter due to the effect of increased hot-rolled coil prices.
The percentage of sheet buyers finding mills willing to negotiate spot pricing rose or remained relatively flat on the products SMU surveys, while plate slumped, according to our most recent survey data.
Reliance Inc. – formerly Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. – introduced its “new company identity” that emphasized its “evolution to more than steel,” the company said in its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings report.
Weak demand and pricing for graphite electrodes combined with higher costs are forcing GrafTech to implement cost-cutting procedures and reduce production across its facilities.
The pace of sheet price declines accelerated this week as steel buyers said that domestic mills were competing against each other while also coping with higher-than-expected import volumes. “They are getting rid of the fluff. When you can pit 2-3 mills against each other, the fat margins get cut,” one industry source said.
Prices for galvanized products have been falling for more than a month, and market participants expect this trend to continue in the near term.
Steel prices stabilized in early January before they began to inflect lower midway through last month. Tags peaked at $1,045 per short ton (st) during the first week of January, even as some mills tried to push prices higher, to no avail. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices ended January at an average of $1,000/st, declining by $45/st during the month.
US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices were again lower this week, pushing the price premium domestic hot band carries over imported products lower vs. the prior week.
What are folks in the steel industry talking about? SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects this past week, including domestic steel prices, import offers, buying activity, and more. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words.
Algoma Steel reported a wider loss in its fiscal third quarter amid lingering impact from the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike and “heavy seasonal maintenance.” Additionally, the Canadian steelmaker said it has completed repairs at it blast furnace and “restored partial coke-making capabilities” after a previously reported incident on Jan. 20.
Sheet prices fell across the board this week as SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price slipped below $1,000 per short ton (st) on average for the first time since November.
Just like doing business in any part of the steel supply chain, there are risks and unknowns in trading steel. But trading companies play an important part, helping businesses navigate the risks and unknowns as they pop up.
The latest SMU market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Historical survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, […]
Steel mill lead times for sheet products saw substantial declines over the past two weeks, while production times for plate held steady during the month of January.
A weaker steel market and lower prices in Europe dragged down SSAB’s earnings during the last three months of 2023.
Steel buyers said mills were much more willing to negotiate spot pricing this week on all products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.
The pig iron market has risen in recent months from the high $390s per metric ton (mt) last fall to $490/mt for Brazilian material and a bit more for Ukrainian product - for an overall average of $495/mt CFR.
US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices law little movement this week, a similar trend seen in offshore markets. Thus, the price premium domestic hot band carries over imported products was largely unchanged vs. the prior week.
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its March order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Tuesday, Jan. 30, that tags would be lowered by $50 per short ton (st) to $1,380/st.
The sun decided to greet us on the second day of the Tampa Steel Conference 2024. Attendees from the chillier northern parts of the continent got their dose of winter sunshine. But whatever the temps, it was inside the conference room where things really heated up. January is always a time to make sense of the year that’s just passed, and look out for the trends for the year ahead.
Sheet prices were mixed this week, with hot-rolled (HR) coil unchanged but cold-rolled and coated prices down.
Nucor is optimistic about long-term activity from bridges and highways, semiconductor chip plants and renewable energy, but still sees some short-term challenges. The North Carolina-headquartered steelmaker expects the federal programs that support these megatrends “to add somewhere between 5 million to 8 million tons of incremental annual demand for steel over the next several years,” […]
Cleveland Cliffs executives didn’t mince words when opening its Q4’23 earnings call.
Nucor Corp. reported a decline in profits during the fourth quarter due to lower pricing and volumes.
What a difference a few weeks make…. As this is our first column after the new year, it is quite interesting to observe how different the steel world looks at the end of January vs. the end of December.