Gap Widens Between US and Foreign Hot Band Prices
US hot-rolled coil (HRC) tags moved higher again this week, widening the gap in pricing between imported offshore product.
Tag: Sheet
Market Chatter This Week
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects, including steel prices, demand, inventories, imports, the UAW strike, and what people were talking about in the market.
Plate Report: Nucor’s Plate Price Cut Stuns
Nucor’s plate price cut notice caught many off guard this week, especially after the company had maintained its pricing position in late September.
AM/NS Calvert Increases Sheet Again, Seeks $900/ton HR base
ArcelorMittal joins U.S. Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs, pushing sheet prices higher, according to an internal commercial memo on Oct. 31.
Final Thoughts
Sheet prices are getting back into very lofty territory. That’s assuming you can find spot tons available for the balance of 2023 – and some of you say you can’t.
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Surges on Limited Spot Availability, Plate Drops on Nucor Decrease
Sheet prices surged this week on limited spot tonnage and on the heels of steep price increases announced by domestic mills.
Imports Fall in September, But Flat Rolled at Three-Month High
The decline in imports from August to September was more pronounced than license applications suggested earlier this month.
Ryerson Expects Slowing Sales, Shipments To Continue Into Q4
Ryerson saw lower sales and shipments in the third quarter and is anticipating further declines in the last quarter of the year.
Cleveland-Cliffs Raises Sheet Prices, Seeks $900/ton for HRC
Cleveland-Cliffs said Tuesday that it would increase spot market base prices for carbon hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated steel sheet.
Ford Reports ~80,000 Units Lost to UAW Strike
Ford Motor Co. said the United Auto Workers' (UAW) strike has shaved ~80,000 vehicles from production.
USS-UPI Operations To Be Idled by Year's End
It’s official: U.S. Steel is idling its UPI operations in Pittsburg, Calif., by year’s end.
Final Thoughts
The first rule of Steel 101 is that you’re free to talk about Steel 101. We actually encourage it. Last week on Tuesday and Wednesday, SMU’s Steel 101 was held in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
CRU Aluminum: Relief Comes With Word of Pending UAW Deal
With the aluminum industry assembled in Nashville, Tenn., for the Aluminum USA 2023 conference, word was breaking of a tentative deal between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Ford.
CRU: Sheet Demand Will Improve in 2024
CRU forecasts a stronger year for steel sheet demand in 2024 than in 2023 as growth continues in Asia and a recent period of contraction in the West ends.
U.S. Steel Talks Price Hike, Investments; Says Little on Sales Process
U.S. Steel’s third-quarter earnings call with analysts on Friday, Oct. 27, was packed full of insight into the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s current state of affairs.
Final Thoughts
I wrote on Sunday that it could be a busy week for steel. It has been.
HRC Futures Go Vertical
These were the headlines hot off the press Wednesday night:
U.S. Steel Posts Lower Q3 Profit on Drop in Sheet Prices. Quiet on Sales Process
U.S Steel posted sharply lower earnings as a result of a drop in steel prices and only modest gains in shipments. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said little about the sales process it launched in August.
SMU Survey: Mill Lead Times Push Out Further
Mill lead times for flat-rolled products pushed out this week once again across the board.
ArcelorMittal Warns St. Lawrence Strike Could Hit Dofasco Raw Material Supplies
Canadian steelmaker ArcelorMittal Dofasco could be impacted by a strike on the St. Lawrence Seaway, a company spokeswoman said.
U.S. Steel Up Another $100/ton on Sheet
U.S. Steel on Thursday announced that it would increase spot prices for steel sheet by another $100 per ton.
Final Thoughts
Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” could be the theme song for the sheet market over the last month. A UAW strike? Shake it off. The lowest ABI since December 2020? Shake it off. A potentially widening conflict in the Middle East? Shake it off. Sheet prices have been rising since late September, and hot-rolled coil […]
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet Up as Price Hikes Gain Traction
Sheet prices rose for a fourth consecutive week following a second wave of price hikes announced by domestic mills.
Nucor Confident on Strong Long-Term Appetite for Steel
Nucor Corp. remains incredibly bullish long-term on steel demand, but an underlining theme during the steelmaker’s third-quarter earnings conference call with analysts on Tuesday, Oct. 24, was tempered near-term expectations.
HARDI Members See Higher Prices Moving Buyers Off Sidelines
Members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) were bullish at the Tuesday, Oct. 24, meeting of its Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council.
Nucor Posts Lower Q3 Profit on Weaker Steel Prices
Nucor reported a drop in third quarter profits on lower steel prices, with the biggest hit to earnings occurring at its sheet mills. And the Charlotte, N.C.-based electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker doesn't see things improving in the fourth quarter.
AM/NS Calvert, Stelco Follow Major Sheet Mills Higher
ArcelorMittal and Stelco joined last week’s move by domestic mills to push sheet prices higher.
South Korea, Brazil Won’t Max Out HRC Quotas This Year
South Korea and Brazil will not be maxing out their allowable quotas on hot-rolled sheet shipments to the US for 2023, according to government data analyzed by SMU.
Final Thoughts
This week could be a big one for steel, or at least for the steel rumor mill. For starters, there is renewed speculation that an announcement about the U.S. Steel sales process could be in the works. The rumor mill is also churning fast when it comes to the duration of the UAW strike and […]
Nucor Breaks Ground on West Virginia Sheet Mill
Nucor Steel held a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday for its Nucor Steel West Virginia sheet mill in Mason County, W.Va.