Editor’s note: As a special bonus, we are sharing this premium-level article with all our subscribers: Demand for sheet products is increasingly driven by hot rolled coil. Imports are taking a greater share of the sheet market, reaching 21.2 percent in June. Apparent supply is a proxy for market demand, and the apparent supply of […]
Editor’s note: As a special bonus, we are sharing this premium-level article with all our subscribers: We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis of tonnage by district of entry is to describe in detail what is going on in […]
China domestic demand is driving a tandem rise in iron ore and steel pricing. Iron ore prices are at their highest level since April as Chinese steel producers gobble ore to take advantage of high margins and surging summer steel prices. Although China is ahead of its target for reducing steel capacity this year, Chinese […]
Ryerson Holding Corp. turned in a strong performance in Q2 despite conflicting business and industry conditions, said President and CEO Eddie Lehner. Margins took a hit as steel import levels rose and nickel and carbon hot rolled prices moved lower. “Ryerson saw some mix-shift impact to margins,” said Lehner, “as sheet and stainless related demand […]
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment report for July was released on Friday with a gain in jobs that exceeded analysts’ expectations. The May result was revised down by 7,000 and June was revised up by 9,000 positions. Using a three-month moving average (3MMA), the July result was 195,000 jobs, which was pulled down […]
USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) has promoted MD. Amin to Vice-President of UPI’s Commercial Group. Amin will lead the company’s sales and marketing activities. “MD. is an exceptional sales leader with a long track record of success, and he is respected by colleagues and customers alike,” said Michael Piekut, UPI’s President. “I cannot think of a better […]
Flat rolled lead times have seen little change in the past month. Twice per month, Steel Market Update conducts an analysis of the flat rolled sheet and plate markets based on responses to a comprehensive questionnaire. When looking at lead times, the analysis is restricted to responses from manufacturers and distributors, who accounted for 84 […]
Total imports of rolled steel increased by 16.9 percent, and sheet products by 18.4 percent, in the three months through July, compared with the prior three months, according to final license data for July released by the U.S. Commerce Department on Aug. 1. The three-month moving average (3MMA) of the total volume of rolled product […]
USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) has promoted MD. Amin to Vice-President of UPI’s Commercial Group. Amin will lead the company’s sales and marketing activities. “MD. is an exceptional sales leader with a long track record of success, and he is respected by colleagues and customers alike,” said Michael Piekut, UPI’s President. “I cannot think of a better […]
In the Key Indicators data released in July, both the present situation and trends have recovered from what now appears to have been a temporary downward blip in June. Trends lead the present situation by about four months. An explanation of the Key Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those […]
U.S. Steel announced the appointment of Kevin P. Bradley as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Bradley will lead all aspects of the company’s financial enterprise, including internal and external reporting, credit, tax and treasury services, investor relations, internal controls and internal audit administrative oversight. He will also assist in developing and implementing the […]
U.S. Steel announced the appointment of Kevin P. Bradley as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Bradley will lead all aspects of the company’s financial enterprise, including internal and external reporting, credit, tax and treasury services, investor relations, internal controls and internal audit administrative oversight. He will also assist in developing and implementing the […]
Steel buyers reported the domestic steel mills as being somewhat more receptive to moving prices early this week compared to where they were at the end of this past week. The result being we did see prices rising on all sheet products. One mill told us earlier today about their coated products order book, “Hanging […]
On Wednesday, Nucor became the first flat rolled mill east of the Rockies to increase spot prices on hot rolled, HRP&O, cold rolled and galvanized steels. Nucor Sheet Mill Group sent out a letter to their customers advising that effective immediately they were taking pricing up by a minimum of $25 per ton ($1.25/cwt). On […]
Steel Dynamics, Inc., is excited about the second half and is expecting growth in all sectors through 2018. CEO Mark Millett says the flat rolled arena remains very strong despite a slight turning of the automotive market. Infrastructure is continuing to grow, as evidenced by cranes and road work funded by states, if not federal […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) released new foreign steel import license data on July 18. The trend for July is for steel imports to remain quite high, in the mid 3-million-net-ton range. We expect imports to be lower than June’s 3.9 million net tons, but above the 12-month and 3-month moving averages. Finished steel […]
Flat rolled lead times remain flat compared to what we reported for early July, as well as one month ago. Twice per month, Steel Market Update conducts an analysis of the flat rolled sheet and plate markets. This is done through the use of a comprehensive questionnaire focused on manufacturing companies and service centers, which […]
Nucor CEO John Ferriola said that in the current challenging environment, he is encouraged by second-quarter results, but not satisfied. Illegally traded imports continue to be a problem in the United States for Nucor and the domestic steel industry, Ferriola said during the company’s second-quarter conference call. He cited a 15 percent year-over-year increase in […]
The growth of service center shipments in June beat the average performance since 2009, according to data from the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). Inventories tend to be lower at mid-year, which is the case in 2017. Daily shipments in June were 0.8 percent higher than in May. On average since 2009, June has decreased […]
The value of the U.S. dollar is in free fall on the international foreign exchange markets. Through July 18, the Broad Index value of the U.S. dollar had depreciated by 7 percent since January 3. Comparing on a rolling three-month basis, the index has declined every single day since January 20. (Please see the end […]
Like the rest of the steel market, wholesalers of galvanized steel and other products used in HVAC applications are stuck in an uncomfortable wait-and-see mode as the Section 232 drama plays out in Washington. In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members reported anxiety over […]
We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis of tonnage by district of entry is to describe in detail what is going on in a company’s immediate neighborhood and thus provide a negotiating advantage for our premium subscribers. We are […]
Apparent supply is a proxy for market demand, and for hot rolled coil has been growing strongly this year. Imports continue to be an increasing factor in the sheet markets. There is a major difference in import market share for the four major sheet products. This report summarizes total steel supply from 2003 through May […]
The final license data for June was reported by the Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis system of the U.S. Commerce Department on July 5. An explanation of the methodology that we at SMU use to analyze the trade data is given at the end of this piece. All volumes in this analysis are reported in […]
Once its new Ruhrstahl-Heraeus (RH) degasser is fully commissioned in the next 30-45 days, Big River Steel will have all its steelmaking equipment up and running. Except for “a few hiccups,” the startup of the new EAF mill in Osceola, Ark., has gone smoothly, said Mark Bula, chief commercial officer, “above plan, plan-plus.” Speaking at […]
An explanation of the Key Market Indicators concept is given at the end of this piece for those readers who are unfamiliar with it. This will explain the difference between our view of the present situation, which is subjective, and our analysis of trends, which is based on the latest facts available. In the June […]
Please see the end of this report for an explanation of data sources. The analysis of currency trends is a highly technical undertaking; therefore we at SMU rely on the opinions of experts for much of our commentary. As expected, the Fed raised its policy rate range by 25 basis points on June 14. This […]
Daily shipments by service centers in May decreased by 1.4 percent from April’s result. On average since 2009, May has increased by 1.3 percent, therefore these latest numbers were a little worse than normal for this time of year. Carbon steel shipments were 148,500 tons per day in May and months on hand on the […]
On Friday, June 16th USS/POSCO Industries (UPI) in Pittsburgh, California increased flat rolled steel prices by $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt). The steel price increases were to be in effect “immediately.” Prices were raised on all products produced at UPI. This includes hot rolled pickled & oiled (HRPO), cold rolled (CR) and galvanized steels. In a […]
The steel industry has a way of surprising those who use its products. This may be especially true this year as it appears the industry is about to enter a phase not seen in decades. It is mid-June 2017 and the domestic flat rolled steel mills are raising steel prices as the U.S. Department of […]