The most straightforward way for a flat rolled steel buyer to fix the cost of steel out into the future is to simply buy steel now and hold it in inventory. The downside to this strategy is, of course, the inventory holding cost. A second way to fix the price of steel is to negotiate […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) released ourr latest Steel Buyers Sentiment Index which measures how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful in the current business environment. The mid-January Sentiment Index was measured over the period January 20 through February 23, 2014 and is being reported at +44. […]
Mill lead times, according to those taking our SMU steel market survey this week, continue to be extended compared to where they were one year ago. However, we found (based on our survey results) that the mills have become more willing to negotiate on hot rolled, galvanized and Galvalume but not on cold rolled. Hot […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S remained positive this week and is currently in its 15th consecutive week of being in positive territory. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is based upon the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price weighed against the previous 12-week average spot price as recorded […]
Two of the indexes followed by Steel Market Update (three including our own indices) saw prices as beginning to drop for the first time in many weeks. The average hot rolled number dropped $3 per ton to $678. The cold rolled results were mixed with SMU and SteelBenchmarker (which is only published twice per month) […]
The Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) produced their analysis of service center shipments and inventories as of the end of December 2013. According to the MSCI flat rolled inventories stood at 4,981,400 tons which represented a 2.6 month’s supply on a non-seasonally adjusted basis and 2.1 months supply based on seasonally adjusted data. Steel Market […]
Many, perhaps most, steel buyers negotiate a new price for flat rolled steel each time they place a purchase order. Other buyers will negotiate a price for all their steel needs over a fixed period (as much as a year) and then, when they require steel, release purchase orders at this fixed price. However, there’s […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S remained positive this week, but only slightly so, and is currently in its 14th consecutive week of being in positive territory. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is based upon the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price weighed against the previous 12-week average […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral. This means we see steel market pricing at this moment as either in transition or moving sideways over the next 30 days. With ferrous scrap prices now weakening, lead times shortening and all of the available capacity back in the market […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our first flat rolled steel market analysis (survey). Invitations were sent by email to approximately 600 companies. We received responses from 120 companies out of which 45 percent were service centers, 42 percent were manufacturing companies, 5 percent trading companies, 5 percent steel mills, 2 percent toll processors and […]
Flat rolled steel prices began to rise this past week according to the steel indices releasing data for the week. Benchmark hot rolled now averages $681 per ton with the range being $675 to $685 per ton (although the $675 is from SteelBenchmarker who did not report new numbers last week). Cold rolled is approaching […]
The majority of flat rolled steel buyers and sellers taking our most recent Steel Market Update (SMU) survey are reporting that they expect that domestic steel mills will be able to collect their most recent price increase within the first two full weeks of January. According to our survey results, 54 percent of those responding […]
Essentially all of the domestic steel mills have finished maintenance on their blast furnaces. U.S. Steel is bringing back online their Fairfield furnace, Berkeley has completed the expansion of its hot strip mill and other domestic steel mill maintenance projects from 4th Quarter 2013 have been completed. Supply is available and now it is time […]
The following article is a continuation of our Steel Buyers Basics series. Today’s article was written by Mario Briccetti. There is a hidden risk in the cost of sheet steel that many buyers do not consider. Most cold rolled and coated steel sheet applications require coverage of an area at a minimum steel thickness – […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel entered the New Year in very high spirits. Our Steel Market Update (SMU) Steel Buyers Sentiment Index was measured at +42 which is the most optimistic level recorded since March 1, 2012 (+45). The rolling three month moving average (3MMA) came in at +38.33 which is a one […]
Based on the results of our first steel market survey of the New Year, lead times at the domestic steel mills remained at moderately higher than normal. Benchmark hot rolled lead times remained above 4.0 weeks (average). Based on the average of the responses received during the survey process HRC lead times were measured at […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S. remained positive this week for the 13th week in a row after 4 consecutive weeks of being in negative territory. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is based upon the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price weighed against the previous 12-week average spot […]
One of our readers asked us last week if we had ever done an analysis of steel prices and lead times. The answer (now) is yes, we have… So the question we posed to ourselves – is there are relationship between mill lead times (as captured in our SMU steel market survey) and flat rolled […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) would like to share some of the data we collected during the past 12 months. Below is a review of flat rolled steel pricing for 2013, scrap pricing during the year, SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index and more… Benchmark Hot Rolled Pricing in Review Benchmark hot rolled ended 2012 at $635 […]
In the steel business and particularly in the painted steel business, a fair amount of non-prime or secondary flat rolled sheet and coil product is produced. Non-prime painted steel is generated either because the steel substrate is substandard or because there is a problem in the painting process. A small sample of steel problems are: […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator ended the month of December where it began, indicating higher flat rolled steel prices over the next 30 days. The domestic steel mills did not disappoint as they raised base price levels to $35.00/cwt on hot rolled and $40.50/cwt on cold rolled and coated (plus extras, FOB mill) for the mills […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S. remained positive this week for the 12th week in a row after four consecutive weeks of being in negative territory. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is based upon the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price weighed against the previous 12-week average spot […]
This past week we saw little movement in pricing on most flat rolled steel products due to the Holidays and a general lack of new orders flowing through the system. Benchmark hot rolled is in a fairly tight range at $667 on the low side (CRU) to $675 on the high side (Platts/Steelbenchmarker). The hot […]
The Steel Market Update Price MoMo Index for flat rolled steel in the U.S. remained positive this week for the 11th week in a row after 4 consecutive weeks of being in negative territory. MoMo, a trailing indicator, is based upon the current hot rolled coil (HRC) price weighed against the previous 12-week average spot […]
Just like in steel, paint companies and coil coaters work best with customers with whom they have a relationship, companies who clearly understand their needs and are consistent in their tonnages as well as the way they conduct their business. In order to establish this kind of a relationship a buyer should understand the […]
On Monday, December 16th we began collecting data for our last Steel Market Update flat rolled steel market analysis. The way the system works is over the years Steel Market Update (SMU) has vetted a number of companies (many of whom John Packard did business with in the past). Our current list has approximately 600 […]
Manufacturing companies are beginning to report a fracture within the service center ranks. In our latest steel market analysis conducted last week, 12 percent of the manufacturers reported decreasing spot flat rolled prices from their service center suppliers. This is up from 4 percent measured at the beginning of December which was up from zero […]
Last week Steel Market Update invited approximately 600 companies to participate in our mid-December 2013 flat rolled steel market survey. Of the companies responding this past week, 49 percent were manufacturing companies, 39 percent were service centers/wholesalers, 4 percent trading companies, 3 percent steel mills, 3 percent toll processors and 2 percent suppliers to the […]
Steel Market Update continues to expand and one of the areas we are looking to expand into is the world of plate. As we enter the New Year we will begin indexing discreet plate pricing as we do hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels. We also are changing our CPI (Comparison Price Indices) […]
Of the three main ways of procuring prepainted flat rolled steel described in my last article, buying from a service center is the simplest. Service Centers will quote a price that can be compared apples to apples against one other. In addition a good Service Center can consult on the correct specifications and will also […]