Steel Products
SMU Service Center Inventories Drop to 2.19 Months
Written by John Packard
March 8, 2013
Based on the results of our latest SMU steel market survey, service center flat rolled inventories (as of this week) dropped from 2.37/2.33 in January and early February to 2.19 months. We did hear from service centers during the survey process of their continued focus on lowering inventories from these levels. SMU considers large, medium and small service centers as equals regarding inventories and we do not seasonally adjust our numbers. We defer to the MSCI data as being more complete but, we feel our quick snapshot analysis provides an early look into what you can expect out of the MSCI data once released.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products
Nucor keeps HRC price unchanged
Nucor paused its weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price this week, keeping it flat for the first time since Jan. 21. This comes after a nine-week rally that saw the company increase prices by double-digits for eight of those weeks.
Nucor increases plate prices by $40/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $40 per short ton (st) with the opening of its May order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the increase was effective with new orders received on Friday, March 28, in a letter to customers dated the same day. The company said the price hike applied […]
US CRC price gains ground over imports
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices increased again this week, while offshore prices declined.
SMU Steel Demand Index momentum slows
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. Contact info@steelmarketupdate.com for information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription. Growth in SMU’s Steel Demand Index eased in March after reaching a four-year high in late February. Despite a moderate gain, the index remains in expansion territory. The Steel Demand […]
Leibowitz: Impact of tariffs on US manufacturers
On February 10, President Trump announced a massive restructuring of tariffs on steel and aluminum. Those changes took effect on March 12, and they will impact US manufacturing. What will the impact be? Bye-bye exclusions Perhaps the most important change, which hits imports from all countries, is the loss of a product exclusion process to […]