Steel Products Prices North America
November & December Foreign Steel Import Analysis
Written by John Packard
December 13, 2016
November import license data is suggesting the month will come in just shy 3.0 million net tons (2.9 million net tons). The U.S. Department of Commerce updated their import monitoring system this afternoon and the early trend for December as for the month to end up around 3.1 million tons.
SMU believes the 3.1 million net tons is overstating the true strength of the market and the true December number will be closer to the October number than the November number.
We are seeing smaller tonnage in hot rolled and coiled plate. Otherwise, early returns show increases in CR, GI and AZ.
But, the month is early and we will need to let each item play itself through the market. Our expectation is when the holidays are taken into consideration most likely the pace of license data will wane and the December number will retreat.
We thought it a little early to provide a full month forecast and instead have opted for a look at the weekly trend (see below). Next week we will have more confidence in the numbers.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
Nucor slows HRC price climb with $5/ton increase
After eight weeks of double-digit price increases on hot-rolled (HR) coil, Nucor slowed the price rise this week with an increase of $5 per short ton.
Domestic CRC prices surge ahead of imports
The price spread between stateside-produced CR and imports reached its widest margin in over a year.
Evraz raises plate prices $160/ton
Evraz North America (NA) has followed Nucor and SSAB with a plate price increase of its own: up $160 per short ton (st). The increase was effective immediately for all new orders of carbon, high-strength low-alloy, and normalized and quenched-and-tempered plate products, as well as for hot-rolled coil, the steelmaker said in a letter to […]
Nucor lifts HR coil to $820/ton
Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil for a fourth consecutive week.
Nucor pushes HR spot price to $790/ton
Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $790 per short ton (st) on Monday, Feb. 10 – a $15/st bump vs. last week. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company has raised its weekly CSP by $40/st over the past three weeks after maintaining tags at $750/st since Nov. 12, according to SMU’s […]