I have just returned from three days in Memphis where we conducted our Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop. We had a packed house of motivated steel people from a wide variety of companies. Nucor Hickman and Nucor-Yamato did a great job of hosting our group as we toured both steel […]
This is not a “kiss and tell story” but rather an explanation of why I, John Packard, founder and owner of Steel Market Update, decided to sell my business to the CRU Group. CRU, known globally for its news, analysis and pricing information, was not the only suitor interested in SMU, but they were the […]
This is not a “kiss and tell story” but rather an explanation of why I, John Packard, founder and former owner of Steel Market Update, decided to sell my business to the CRU Group. CRU, known globally for its news, analysis and pricing information, was not the only suitor interested in SMU, but they were […]
Service centers held essentially the same number of months of supply of flat rolled steel inventories at the end of April as they did as of the end of March 2018. SMU Service Center Months of Supply Index for flat rolled (sheet) steel is 2.7 months based on responses from 95 percent of the steel […]
Steel Market Update began working with a large group of flat rolled and plate steel service centers last July regarding producing a new index for distributor inventories. Our initial concentration has been to collect the number of months of supply steel distrubutors were averaging as of the end of the month. Earlier this week, we […]
With 66 percent of our service center data providers reporting, flat rolled inventories were modestly lower as of the end of April at 2.6 months of supply compared to March when inventories were at 2.7 months. A large percentage (52 percent) of the companies reporting told SMU their number of months of supply for flat […]
Some quick housekeeping regarding this week’s schedule. On Monday I will be going out with two requests via email. The first will be for those service centers who participate in our service center inventories index. I hope to have those emails out to each of the distributors between 7:30 and 8:30 AM ET. Around 9 […]
Steel Market Update downshifted its price momentum indicator from higher to neutral in late April as steel buyers reported stability in most products and prices appeared to have plateaued, at least in the short term. At month’s end, hot rolled was selling for about $873, cold rolled for just over $1,000, galvanized for around $1,100, […]
It’s May 1st and a new month has begun. This month is going to be an important one for Steel Market Update and our readers. We will be sending out a link to a questionnaire as we strive to improve our product for our members. We are trying to learn more about who you are, […]
Service center shipments of carbon plate increased in March, while shipments of flat roll and tubular products declined, compared with the same month last year, according to the Metals Service Center Institute’s March Metals Activity Report. Overall, service center shipments saw an improvement in March from the prior month. U.S. service centers shipped 3.596 million […]
For the ultimate prognosticators out there, individual tax returns were due today (April 17) by midnight. The IRS has had computer issues today and has extended the deadline to April 18 at midnight. The Metals Service Center Institute inventories and shipment article in tonight’s issue will be the last one Steel Market Update will produce. […]
As Steel Market Update analyzed the inventory data received from flat rolled steel distributors, we found the number of months of supply that steel service centers are carrying was lower at the end of March than what we reported at the end of February. With 96 percent of our data providers reporting, the number of […]
The following report was originally published last week for our Premium level members. The SMU service center inventories months of supply index began in July 2017 and we continue to add flat rolled and plate steel distributors to our confidential data provider list. If you would like to be added to our data provider list […]
February service center shipments of carbon flat roll, plate, and pipe and tube were all up compared with the same month last year, but down compared with the prior month, according to the Metals Service Center Institute’s February Metals Activity Report. It’s a common seasonal pattern for shipments to start the year strong in January […]
The following analysis of the number of months of supply being held by flat rolled steel distributors is intended for SMU Premium level members. We are sharing this report with all of our readers during the first year of the index, after which it will be available for Premium members only. Shortly after the month […]
Oscar Night, so I will keep my comments short and sweet…maybe. I was told by one of our readers over the weekend that it would cost U.S. Steel $100 million to re-start Granite City. They wanted to know if that was correct? I did some checking with a number of analysts and was told that […]
There were no surprises in this month’s data as our SMU Price Momentum continued to reflect higher steel prices, and that expectation continues over the next 30 to 60 days. Our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index is at, or very near, all-time highs for our index. Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are optimistic […]
The new year got off to a strong start for U.S. service centers, which reported over a 4 percent increase in carbon steel shipments and a 6 percent increase in carbon steel inventories in January, according to the Metals Service Center Institute’s January Metals Activity Report. Service center shipments of carbon plate saw a big […]
According to the Steel Market Update Service Center Flat Rolled Inventories Index, distributor inventories fell over the course of the month of January. Our index has distributors holding 2.8 months of supply as of the end of the month. This is 0.2 of a month’s supply lower than the 3 months of inventory held at […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel The HR futures prices continue to grind higher in the near dates but have been lagging in the latter half of […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released license data through the first 13 days of February that “suggests” foreign steel imports could be at the lowest levels seens in many years. The trend is for imports to barely exceed 2 million net tons, almost one-third lower than the 3 million tons that were reported for January. […]
First, tomorrow (Wednesday) is Valentine’s Day. The heat is turning up on Section 232 discussions as trade groups, individual businesses and congressmen lean in and provide their opinions to President Trump. He still sounds like he is going to do something “disruptive,” but we just don’t know for sure. As you can see from tonight’s […]
Another note regarding our SMU Service Center Flat Rolled Steel Inventories report. This information is provided first to those companies who supply data. So, if you are a service center or wholesaler selling prime flat rolled and/or plate products and you would like to participate as a confidential data provider, please contact me at John@SteelMarketUpdate.com. […]
U.S. service centers shipped 38.779 million tons of steel products in 2017, an increase of 3.8 percent compared with full-year 2016, according to the Metals Service Center Institute’s December Metals Activity Report. Shipments of carbon flat roll and plate saw single-digit increases over the prior year, while shipments of pipe and tube products saw a […]
Six months ago, Steel Market Update began collecting inventory data from a select group of flat rolled and plate steel service centers. Over time, the number of participating distributors has grown and we have been able to expedite the gathering of information from most (not all) of the service centers involved. Our initial goal is […]
So far this month, Steel Market Update has had a strong response rate from the service centers registered as inventories data providers. As of this afternoon, we had 79 percent of the steel service center data providers respond to our inquiry about their flat rolled and plate steel inventories. The headline number is flat rolled […]
Earlier today, Steel Market Update provided our “Flash Report” on flat rolled steel service center inventories to those distributors who are actively providing months of supply data to SMU. Our first Flash Report prompted three comments from the group that we would like to share with our readers: Service Center One: “This market is the […]
The year 2017 proved a bit “odd” as the threat of political action against foreign steel worked against the domestic steel mills. Early in the year, newly crowned President Trump authorized the U.S. Department of Commerce, led by former steel magnate Wilbur Ross, to investigate if the steel industry is essential to the U.S. for […]
Service centers continue to hold flat rolled inventories steady at 2.89 months of supply at the end of November, according to the proprietary Steel Market Update Service Center Inventories Index (SSII). This is now the third consecutive month we have found flat rolled steel distributors’ inventories close to the three months of supply level. Contrast […]
Twice per month, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducts an analysis of the flat rolled steel market and the trends that affect pricing, demand, etc. Each analysis is conducted via an email invitation to complete a questionnaire. SMU invites approximately 650 individuals who are active participants in the manufacturing, distribution, toll processing, trading and steel mill […]