By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, June 8 The CRUspi plummeted again month-on-month in June by over 12.3%, which is a larger drop than in May. This makes it the third-largest percentage point drop on record and the second largest in terms of total points. The supply shock caused by […]
Steel prices eased each week in May, following increases in March and most of April. Hot rolled prices were $1,440 per ton ($72 per cwt) the first week of May, just $40 lower than the mid-April peak. Prices then slipped between $15 and $75 each of the following weeks, with the SMU index averaging $1,255 […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, May 11 The CRUspi plunged month-on-month (MoM) in May by over 8.6%, which is the largest percentage point decline since late 2008 and the second-largest ever in terms of total fallen points. Supply chain readjustments for both sheet and steelmaking raw materials in the […]
Steel prices were relatively steady in April, following increases in March. Hot rolled prices were at $1,460 per ton ($73 per cwt) the first week of April, the highest level seen since January 2022. Prices then bounced around within a $30 per ton range for the remainder of the month, with the SMU index averaging $1,450 per ton as […]
Steel prices rose each week in March, and the increases were the first in six months. Hot rolled prices were down to $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt) the first week of March, the lowest level seen since December 2020. Prices then surged $435 per ton throughout the month, with the SMU index averaging $1,435 per ton […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, March 23 Persistently high steelmaking raw material prices and restricted global production pushed sheet prices higher w/w across the world. The largest of these increases were in Europe and the USA, with prices rising by triple-digit amounts for yet another week. Still, domestic […]
Nucor aims to increase base prices for steel sheet by at least $125 per ton ($6.25 per cwt) effective immediately. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with either a Nucor sales acknowledgement or written acceptance by both parties,” the company said in a letter to customers dated […]
Sheet prices fell again this week. But price declines for hot-rolled coil have slowed, with HRC tags down $20 per ton ($1 per cwt) and coalescing around $1,000 per ton. While some mills were reported to be cutting deals as low as $900 per ton, others were said to be mulling price hikes. Cold-rolled and […]
Nucor Corp. crushed annual profit records in 2021 and posted yet another quarterly profit record in the fourth quarter. The trend continues a 2021 pattern among domestic steelmakers of each quarter setting a record compared to that set in the prior quarter. All told, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker posted an annual profit of $6.83 billion […]
Nucor Corp. crushed annual profit records in 2021 and posted yet another quarterly profit record in the fourth quarter. The trend continues a 2021 pattern among domestic steelmakers of each quarter setting a record compared to that set in the prior quarter. All told, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker posted an annual profit of $6.83 billion […]
South Korean mills are out with new lower prices for steel sheet and steady prices for plate, according to recent offers reviewed by Steel Market Update. The trend is important because U.S. mills are increasingly willing to compete with imports, meaning that the latest import offers give an indication of where domestic prices are headed. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Atul Kulkarni, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Jan. 31 The global steel industry is going to witness a transformation in terms of technology and operating practice due to decarbonization pressure. However, this transition will not come without substantial costs, as all CO2 abatement pathways are forecast to be more expensive than […]
The Dodge Momentum Index declined for a third straight month in August, a stark contrast from the six consecutive months of gains seen since the close of 2020. The downturn suggests strong headwinds from supply-chain limitations, rising raw material prices, and labor shortages that are plaguing the nonresidential construction sector, especially new projects. The index […]
By CRU Senior Editor Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) fell by 4.8% in August to 393.8, making it the first reading below the 400 level since May. Price falls for scrap and HBI were similar in scale, but pig iron prices have moved notably lower. Demand […]
The Chicago Business Barometer reached its highest level since November 1973, coming in at 75.2 for May. New orders jumped 7.7 points, indicating strong demand in the region. Survey respondents noted that high consumer demand may be due in part to worries about raw material shortages. Production slowed by 2.3 points and order backlogs were […]
New orders, production and employment picked up in May despite slower supplier deliveries and lengthening backlogs, said the Institute for Supply Management in the May 2021 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI rose 0.5 percentage point to 61.2 after contracting in April and indicates expansion for the overall economy. “Manufacturing performed well for the […]
The manufacturing sector can expect continued growth for the remainder of this year, says the Institute for Supply Management in their Spring 2021 Semiannual Economic Forecast. ISM raised its projections for several components of the survey that covers 18 manufacturing industries. “Expectations for the remainder for 2021 have strengthened somewhat compared to December 2020, as […]
Record-high steel prices result not from Section 232 tariffs or industry consolidation but instead from uniquely strong supply-demand fundamentals, Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said. And an ambitious infrastructure package would go a long way toward keeping those fundamentals, and the resulting investment in the domestic steel industry, stronger for longer, he suggested. “We in this country […]
Record-high steel prices result not from Section 232 tariffs or industry consolidation but instead from uniquely strong supply-demand fundamentals, Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said. And an ambitious infrastructure package would go a long way toward keeping those fundamentals, and the resulting investment in the domestic steel industry, stronger for longer, he suggested. “We in this country […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and CRU Head of Fertilizers Chris Lawson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Commodity prices have continued an upwards tear in 2021. Steel and its raw materials have seen the sharpest gains, but less well-known commodities such as fertilizers are also attracting attention. With such steep price rises, calls for a […]
Allegheny Technologies Inc. posted a net loss of $7.9 million in the first quarter, with a slight recovery in jet engine production. First-quarter 2021 results are a vast improvement from the adjusted net loss of $41.9 million in the prior quarter, but a far cry from the pre-pandemic net income of $21.1 million in Q1 […]
Russian steelmaker NLMK said sales in its U.S. division increased 16% in Q1 2021 to 430 million metric tons. The increase was driven by hot-rolled and galvanized steel. Sales of hot rolled increased 17% from the fourth quarter of 2020 and galvanized steel sales soared 37%. Sales of cold rolled fell 13%. On a year-over-year […]
Steel prices might be at record levels, but the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Steel Committee remains worried about global overcapacity. “While steel prices declined in 2020, they have recently increased as steelmaking capacity idled during the heights of the pandemic could not be brought online quickly enough to meet recovering steel demand and […]
Rising costs and supply-chain disruptions remained headwinds for manufacturers across the globe in March. Despite the challenges, the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI reached a 10-year high of 55.0. Manufacturing output expanded at the strongest rate in a decade as demand strengthened domestically and in international trade. Growth was reported in 23 of 27 nations […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. forecast higher first- and second-quarter results, fueled by strong shipments and record steel prices, according to guidance issued Wednesday. “First-quarter 2021 profitability from the company’s steel operations is expected to be significantly higher than sequential fourth-quarter results, driven by flat roll metal spread expansion, as strong demand continues to support flat roll steel prices,” […]
Hyundai Steel has halted output on some production lines and will be approximately 1.5 months late with some shipments because of a “guerrilla strike,” according to a letter to U.S. customers. “Since the strike is still ongoing and the effect of the production suspension(s) are yet to be calculated, we cannot designate the accurate quantity […]
Good news on the global manufacturing front—the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI hit a three-year high of 53.6 in February, indicating a faster rate of growth despite supply-chain disruptions and inflationary pressures. Manufacturing expansion was evident in 23 of 29 of the nations surveyed, with the fastest improvement in Germany. Only Greece, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, […]
The Chicago Business Barometer slipped 4.3 points to 59.5 in February, though still above a reading of 50 that indicates expansion, following a 2.5-year high in January. New orders plunged 11 points to their lowest level since August 2020. Production fell 9.3 points after two months of gains. Business activity at firms in the Chicago […]
Supply chain disruptions and material shortages slowed global manufacturing expansion in January. The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.5 last month from 43.8 in December and to a three-month low. Overall, however, the manufacturing sector remained robust with most nations reporting expansion in the sector. Production and new orders rose in January, but new […]
The housing construction market continued its strength in December with starts vaulting 5.8 percent from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,669,000. Single-family housing starts soared 12 percent, but starts of multifamily housing of five units or more plummeted 15.2 percent. Building permits, an indicator of future construction, rose 4.5 percent last month […]