Total steel imports into the United States jumped by more than 20% in the first seven months of the year, versus the same period in 2020, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute, based on preliminary Census data. Foreign steel, including billet and slabs, totaled 17.7 million net tons for a 20.6% year-over-year increase. Finished […]
Two of the steel industry’s most respected analysts delivered a reality check to the market on Monday during SMU’s Steel Summit in Atlanta. Record-high steel prices enjoyed by steelmakers and distributors for the past year “can’t last,” they declared. Simply put, supply-demand fundamentals indicate that prices are due – indeed overdue – to drop significantly in the next […]
Nucor might be wrapping up an approximately $4-billion expansion campaign, but it has no intentions of stopping there, the company’s top executive said. “We’re going to be a growth company. … And we’ve got the balance sheet to continue to invest,” President and CEO Leon Topalian said. Topalian declined to specify where the company might […]
Nucor Corp. has acquired Hannibal Industries, Inc., a national provider of steel racking solutions headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. “We are excited to officially welcome our Hannibal teammates as part of the Nucor team,” said Giff Daughtridge, president of Sheet and Tubular Products. “Adding steel racking solutions to our product portfolio expands our ability to […]
Steel Market Update will not be updating sheet and plate prices during our Steel Summit conference in the week of Aug. 23. The SMU staff will be busy with the conference, and many of the usual data providers will be in attendance at the event in Atlanta. SMU will resume its weekly price updates the […]
Roughly half of the steel executives responding to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week believe the infrastructure legislation now working its way through Congress will have a significant impact on steel demand in the next year or two. The other half are unsure if the two parties in Washington can reach agreement even […]
Settling on the direction of SMU’s Price Momentum Indicators has been an easy task for the past year. Prices on all products were clearly moving upward week after week as demand continued to outstrip supplies. Today, the market is changing, and the trend is less clear. Determining price momentum is considerably trickier. SMU does not […]
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) has sold its Flowform Products business to Consolidated Boring Inc. for $55 million in cash. Proceeds from the sale of Billerica, Mass.-based Flowform will be used to boost ATI’s liquidity and to strengthen its balance sheet, the company said. “While ATI Flowform is a strong performer with a great team serving […]
On Friday, Steel Market Update sent data providers the final analysis for July of service center inventories, shipments, steel on-order, and percentage of inventories tied up for contract sales. Premium members will receive the report on Monday. As expected, after reviewing our Flash Report which is provided to data providers five days into the new […]
Mill shipments of steel products rose in June by 1.7%, following an increase of 1.9% the month prior. Apparent supply jumped 6.0% in June after a 1.3% increase in May. June’s gains were the fourth in as many months after February’s double-digit contraction. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment data from the American […]
Mild weakening of monthly Key Market Indicators, as analyzed by Steel Market Update, may reflect the usual summer slowdown or perhaps growing concern over the latest COVID variant and its possible effects on the economy. Markers for the Present Situation have contracted for the second straight month and Trends have now followed after a small but positive […]
Steel demand remains strong, outpacing supplies in the U.S. and causing prices to continue escalating. The trend is attracting more imports as customers look overseas for price and supply relief. June data shows imports of most steel products have risen over the past two months as imports’ share of total sheet product shipments rose to 16.2%, […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with our Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Producer prices accelerated into midsummer, showing no signs of slowing down. The index and subcategories for final demand have fully recovered from the COVID-driven collapse and have overtaken pre-pandemic […]
What does the infrastructure spending plan passed this week by the Senate mean for steel? On Tuesday, in a bipartisan vote, the Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure package that includes $550 billion in new federal spending. That measure now moves on to the House for consideration. Around 44% of total U.S. steel demand is […]
Memorize these words, “carbon border adjustment tax,” as they are being mentioned in the Senate Budget Committee, which is working on the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package the Senate advanced on Wednesday. The idea proposed would “account for the cost incurred by U.S. businesses to comply with laws and regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions,” based on […]
Do you have a sense that conditions in the steel market are changing? If so, you are not alone. The majority of steel buyers polled by SMU over the last two weeks feel it won’t be until the fourth quarter, if not well into next year, before there will be any significant changes in steel […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The automotive industry accounts for approximately 10% of end-use sector zinc demand, in the form of galvanized steel sheet, die castings and oxide. Even before the pandemic, vehicle output and sales in some of the major producing countries were being constrained by new […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market have continued to rise, though the rate of increase has slowed since the end of May. The price of HR coil has increased $21 /s.ton w/w and is now $126 /s.ton higher than our assessment on […]
Lapham-Hickey Steel Corp. has acquired Rebel Steel, a service center specializing in slitting of cold-rolled and coated steels based in Nashville, Tenn. “The acquisition of Rebel Steel is an exciting addition to our existing footprint. Having brick and mortar with rail access in the Nashville area will allow us to competitively service the Tennessee and […]
U.S. steel mills shipped 8,031,516 net tons in June, a 33.3% increase from the 6,023,524 net tons shipped in June 2020, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Shipments rose a slight 0.6% from the 7,987,038 net tons shipped in the previous month. Shipments for the first half of 2021 totaled 45,969,876 net tons, an […]
The U.S. Senate passed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill. The bill includes $550 billion in new spending. The bill calls for $110 billion for roads, bridges and major infrastructure projects. It also includes $40 billion for bridge repair and replacement, $39 billion to modernize public transit, $66 billion for passenger and freight rail, $65 billion to […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Over the past few months, we have seen a number of short-term strike actions around North America: a Montreal four-day strike in May and the Charleston International Longshoremen Association (ILA) filing strike notices at the same time. While both industrial actions have not resulted in extended work stoppages, they […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill promises to deliver about $550 million in actual new investment. The breakdown of that investment looks as follow. Aluminum and steel have superior sustainability advantages and should exploit them. Clearly, the steel industry is cheering the passage as much as the aluminum industry. Both […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Prices fell w/w in southern Europe and China but were stable in Asia and up somewhat in India. Prices in the U.S. again were the outlier this week, rising by three times as much as anywhere else. In fact, the differential between U.S. […]
JSW Steel (USA) Inc. has increased base prices for plate by at least $120 per ton ($6 per cwt). The U.S. subsidiary of India’s JSW Group said the price hike was effective immediately for all new, non-contract orders. “This increase applies to our as-rolled and normalized plate products. Our full published extras will also remain […]
We talk a lot about the price of steel going up. We don’t talk as much about spreads between hot-rolled coil and prime scrap – which are going up just as fast if not faster. And if you’ve listened to earnings calls over the last two weeks, you know that steel mills and industry analysts […]
We talk a lot about the price of steel going up. We don’t talk as much about spreads between hot-rolled coil and prime scrap – which are going up just as fast if not faster. And if you’ve listened to earnings calls over the last two weeks, you know that steel mills and industry analysts […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary U.S. refined demand continues to impress through the traditionally slower summer months, with market contacts reporting still-strong off-take under long-term contracts into August. We hear that many consumers continue to take the higher end of their contracted metal tonnage, with some still buying additional spot quantities. A further increase […]
Toyota Motor North America in now a member of the Auto/Steel Partnership (A/SP), joining automakers Stellantis and General Motors in a consortium that includes the American Iron and Steel Institute’s (AISI) Automotive Applications Council. “We are excited to welcome Toyota to our team of automakers, steel companies and tier supplier representatives who are dedicated to […]
ArcelorMittal continues to forge ahead with major expansions at its North American operations on the heels of its best second-quarter profits since 2008. The multinational steelmaker recorded net income of $4 billion in the second quarter of 2021 after losing $559 million in the same quarter last year on sales that increased 76.2% to $19.3 […]