Data on US industrial production, capacity utilization, new orders and inventories all held steady through the latest figures, indicating a stable and healthy manufacturing sector. The strength of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry.
US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices fell again this week – now on a 13-week run – causing tags to drift further below offshore hot band prices on a landed basis.
Domestic steel shipments increased in May month over month but have fallen on-year.
SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices dropped this week, with Current Sentiment plummeting to a level not seen since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to our most recent survey data.
After celebrating the July 4th holiday, let’s have a look back at the first half of 2024.
Steel mill lead times remain near some of the lowest levels witnessed in months, according to our latest market canvass to steel service centers and manufacturers.
Radius Recycling continued to bleed red in its most recent quarterly report as it negotiated persistently challenging conditions in the recycled metals market.
Sheet steel buyers found mills more willing to negotiate spot pricing this week, according to our most recent survey data.
Cornerstone Building Brands agreed to buy Mueller Supply Co. for $475 million, according to a Form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 1.
A record 60.6 million people are expected to travel by car for the Fourth of July holiday, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). And a recent survey by The Vacationer said 75% of Americans intend to take at least one road trip this summer. In short, Americans are hitting the road this season and probably crossing a short-span steel bridge on their travels.
Steel Market Update’s offices will be closed on July 4th for Independence Day.
It’s been a slow start to the week as far as news goes, something you’d expect ahead of a shortened Independence Day week. That said, it’s not as if transactions have completely ground to a halt. (Prices continue to drift lower.) And while news might be slow, rumors of low-priced deals, price hikes, and trade cases seem to have filled that void.
Cornerstone Building Brands is set to buy Mueller Supply Co., a manufacturer of residential metal roofing and components and steel buildings in Texas and the Southwest.
Antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs), in place for more than twenty years on imports of hot-rolled (HR) steel from six countries, are up for their fourth sunset review.
Looking out over the American economy, Triple-S Steel Holdings CEO Gary Stein believes what is required doesn’t fundamentally have to do with government policy. “Rather, it’s a mind shift.”
Novolipetsk Steel’s (NLMK) mill in Lipetsk, Russia, was the target of a raid by Ukrainian drones on Sunday, according to a Reuters report.
Domestic raw steel production inched up again last week to reach a four-week high, according to the latest release by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
US manufacturing activity contracted again in June, as reported in the latest release from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
Veteran investment bankers Vince Pappalardo and Andy Pappas will be the featured guests on the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, July 10, at 11 am ET (10 am CT). The live webinar is free to attend for all who register. A recording will be available only to SMU members. You can register here.
Nucor lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil by another $10 per short ton (st) for the first week of July. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday that its CSP base price for the week will be $670/st for all of its sheet mills with the exception of California Steel Industries (CSI).
Domestic plate prices have been on a historic run since they began surging in January 2021. Tags reached an all-time high of $1,940 per short ton (st) in May 2022, though they have mostly trended lower over the past two years.
At the end of every Supreme Court term there are a few big cases. This year, there are more. The last day for releasing opinions comes July 1. On Friday, the Court issued a long-awaited and long-expected decision about interpreting statutes that give powers to administrative agencies, including (among many others) the Commerce Department, the […]
July is less than a week away, which means SMU’s Steel Summit in August is just around the corner.
The Congressional Steel Caucus have expressed concern regarding the US government’s potential trade status change for Vietnam.
US drill rig activity eased for the fourth consecutive week last week, while Canadian counts increased for the seventh week in a row, according to the latest data release from Baker Hughes.
Low global sheet demand continued to weigh on prices around the world this week. In the US, mills were forced to remain aggressive to secure orders during this period of demand weakness. And compounded by recent new capacity ramp-ups, has forced US hot rolled (HR) coil prices down closer to levels seen in offshore markets. […]
U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel explained their position on USS’ participation in US trade cases should their proposed nearly $15-billion merger deal go through. The companies hope to close the deal by the end of the year.
Offshore cold-rolled (CR) coil remains cheaper than domestic product pricing even as US CR coil prices slip to an eight-month low. Domestic CR coil tags stood at $975 per short ton (st) on average in our check of the market on Tuesday, June 25, down $20/st from the week before. Domestic CR prices are, on […]
It was great to have Gary Stein, CEO of Triple-S Steel, join SMU for a Community Chat earlier this week. (Btw, you can find a record of the webinar here.) We covered a lot of ground. From Andrew Carnegie and the Johnstown Flood to the current steel market and the state of domestic manufacturing broadly speaking. One thing that stuck with me was how unevenly construction spending appears to be on “green” initiatives and other key items funded by infrastructure spending, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS Act.
This chart of the rolling second-month CME hot-rolled coil (HRC) future dating back to the start of 2022 has been as volatile as a herd of “Wild Horses.”