Commodities prices are a mixed bag. The price of iron ore is falling, but zinc is at a 10-year high. In this report, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc. On Oct. 25, commodities analyst Andrew Hecht wrote: “President Xi is likely to consolidate his power and take greater […]
Steel market indicators look good in the October data, but the trends took a turn for the worse. In the data released in October, our view of the present situation is that 47.2 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance are within the band of historically normal. […]
AK Steel reported a net loss of $5.8 million in the third quarter compared to net income of $50.9 million in Q3 2016. Results were impacted by $13.1 million in acquisition and debt refinancing costs and a LIFO charge of $49.0 million, compared to a LIFO credit of $24.2 million in the prior-year third quarter. […]
It has only been one week since ArcelorMittal USA increased flat rolled steel prices. As the week progressed, it became obvious that steel mills were reacting to the price announcements in different ways. We heard from steel buyers that some mills withdrew open quoted pricing and repriced at new levels at least $40 per ton […]
Wholesaler/distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market are waiting anxiously to see what happens to prices in the coming weeks. In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members asked two key questions: Will the mills be able to collect the flat roll […]
Flat rolled steel prices continued their slow slog south (prices are moving lower). The pace has not accelerated, but there are questions as to whether some of the mills are cutting “quiet” deals in order to fill their fourth-quarter order book without giving the steel away. One service center put it to us this way: […]
Prior to the ArcelorMittal USA price increase announcement, Steel Market Update analysis of steel prices found flat rolled steel prices continuing their slow slog south (prices are moving lower). The pace has not accelerated, but there are questions as to whether some of the steel mills are cutting “quiet” deals in order to fill their […]
One of the questions we get regularly is what are steel buyers and sellers of steel saying about their business (demand) and inventory levels? Over this past week, Steel Market Update spoke with quite a few companies and asked them how they were seeing business and if their company was building flat rolled or steel […]
One of the questions we get regularly is what are steel buyers and sellers of steel saying about their business (demand) and inventory levels? Over this past week, Steel Market Update spoke with quite a few companies and asked them how they were seeing business and if their company was building flat rolled or steel […]
What goes around comes around, as they say. In the case of the ferrous scrap market, what goes around and comes around again and again are residuals such as copper that complicate the steelmaking process and threaten to erode some of the competitive cost advantage now held by minimills. Minimill steelmaking has transformed the steel […]
Zinc prices continue their rally that began in early 2016, taking the metal’s price to a 10-year high and raising the cost of producing galvanized steel and other products. Zinc prices have managed to breach the psychological ceiling of $3,000 per metric ton, which stalled rallies in November 2016 and February 2017. Breaking this ceiling […]
Some key price levels have been left in the dust when it comes to flat rolled and plate prices. On Friday of this past week, Steel Market Update (SMU) reduced the lower end of the range on hot rolled and our average dropped below $600 per ton. This week our HRC took a hit on […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) found steel prices mixed this past week on not only our own index, but also that of Platts. In the past, we have seen this when there is limited buying due to a slowdown in business or in relationship to an expansion of inventories. Benchmark hot rolled was lower this past […]
Flat rolled steel prices continue to “drift,” with some items drifting lower, some staying the same and cold rolled actually increasing by $5 per ton. One commercial officer at a steel mill told SMU that in his view the range has shrunk for the products they produce. Even so, “We are finding business, and it […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator is now at “lower,” meaning flat rolled steel spot prices are expected to move lower over the next 30 to 60 days. Steel prices have begun to retreat with benchmark hot rolled beginning the month at $630 per ton ($31.50/cwt) and ending the month down $20 to $610 per ton ($30.50/cwt). […]
The price of iron ore is falling but zinc is at a 10-year high. In this report, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc and their relationship to the dollar. “Right now, the dollar has a lot going against it. The administration in the U.S. continues to hope the […]
When asked to comment on spot flat rolled steel prices this week, the president of a medium-sized service center told SMU, “Drifting. Demand seems down.” He went on to report that even with AK Steel and ArcelorMittal reporting extending lead times, the market “feels soft.” Other steel buyers reported that their perception of the market […]
One of the surprises over the past year has been the amount of foreign steel imports still arriving in the United States despite antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD), a Section 337 complaint, a circumvention complaint and the Trump directive for the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to investigate steel as it relates to national […]
U.S. Steel and Kobe Steel announced plans to expand the galvanizing line at their joint venture PRO-TEC Coating Co. in Leipsic, Ohio. Construction will begin in the fourth quarter on a new continuous galvanizing line in response to demand for advanced high-strength steels. The $400 million CGL will have a yearly capacity of 500,000 tons […]
On Friday, Steel Market Update (SMU) adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Lower from Neutral. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will move lower over the next 30 days for the following 10 reasons: First, when the head of commercial of a domestic steel mill tells SMU that “transaction pricing cannot go […]
Zinc is once again trading above $1.40 per pound ($1.42 as of 3:30 PM ET) and the smaller steel mills and converters are wondering why U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal USA and Nucor haven’t made the move to higher zinc coating extras on galvanized steel? We have seen four mills make changes on their “spot” new orders: […]
Despite recent price increase announcements from major domestic mills and imports that are trending lower, wholesalers and distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market don’t expect much change in lead times or pricing until there’s some resolution to the Section 232 and Vietnam circumvention trade actions pending in Washington. In the monthly […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures markets was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Director of Risk Management, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Zinc prices have been rising and we are starting to see updated galvanized price extras from the mills. Steel Market Update has received updated galvanized coating extras from Nucor, USS Posco (UPI), NLMK, California Steel Industries (CSI), and AK Steel. We updated the comparison tables on our website and have included a copy of the […]
Over the weekend, we received a message from trade attorney Lewis Leibowitz regarding the status of the Vietnam circumvention suit. This is the one where the domestic steel mills filed a circumvention suit alleging China is circumventing the duties on cold rolled and CORE (corrosion resistant) steels by sending substrate to Vietnam and having it […]
Our SMU team has been pretty lucky as those of us who live in Florida did not suffer significant damage to our homes. The Florida residents ended up escaping and being essentially unaffected by Hurricane Irma. However, Brett lives in Georgia and he lost power yesterday as a large tree took out the power line […]
The saga continues as we endeavor to escape the wrath of Hurricane Irma. After leaving Hobe Sound, we settled in Gainesville on the campus of the University of Florida. As the hurricane track began to move a little further west, we decided to do the same and headed into the western panhandle of Florida. That […]
I want to recognize the Steel Market Update writers who have been doing stellar work through a grueling work schedule. Last week, it was our conference where we had all hands on deck in order to make sure the conference ran smoothly. This week and this coming weekend (and probably all of next week), the […]
Last Friday, NLMK USA advised customers of their intention of increasing their zinc coating extras by approximately 10 percent. The higher extras are due to a surge in zinc spot costs on the LME. Zinc spot prices reached $1.42 per pound as of the end of trading today (Thursday). We have put together a quick […]
In this report, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc. To put the raw materials analysis into perspective, we begin with Figure 1, which shows the spread between Chicago #1 busheling and hot rolled coil ex works Indiana through Aug. 18, both in dollars/net ton. On this date, Aug. […]