US Steel Corp. has completed the foundation, along with the first placement of structural steel, at its direct-reduced (DR)-grade pellet production facility in Keewatin, Minn. Completion of the $150-million Keetac project is expected later this year, with first pellets produced in 2024, the company said. US Steel broke ground on the facility in Q3 2022, as […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) kept its competitive price advantage run over imported steel – now 14 weeks running – though it did lose momentum week on week (WoW), according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 7% cheaper than foreign prices this week, down slightly from 8% last […]
US manufacturing activity retreated in January, the third consecutive monthly decline, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The Manufacturing PMI fell to 47.4% in the first month of 2023, the lowest level since May 2020, when it registered a seasonally adjusted 43.5%, ISM said. Any reading below 50% indicates the manufacturing sector is generally contracting. […]
The cost and scope of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s flat-rolled aluminum mill in Columbus, Miss., and related scrap processing operations, have increased. The total cost of the project is now expected to be $2.5 billion, up from an initial $2.2 billion, SDI chairman, president, and CEO Mark Millett said during the quarterly earnings call last week. […]
Nucor Corp. will keep plate prices unchanged with the opening of its March order book. The steelmaker has now maintained its plate tags since its sharp price cut in late November. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the move was effective on Jan. 26, according to a letter to customers. Published adders and extras will continue to […]
The domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) competitive price advantage over imported steel has been on a 13-week run, and it’s been gaining ground over the past week, with foreign HRC prices still largely on the rise, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. US HRC is approximately 8% cheaper than foreign prices this week, […]
Steel Dynamic Inc.’s new sheet mill in Sinton, Texas, should become profitable in 2023 after costing the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker more than $400 million in 2022, company executives said. The shift should come thanks to increased shipments, lower raw material costs, and a lack of import competition from Mexico stemming from production issues at […]
Nucor Corp.’s fourth-quarter net earnings slid 44% from a year ago, but the company still reported the most profitable year in its history. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker posted net earnings of $1.26 billion in the quarter ended Dec. 31 vs. $2.25 billion in the same quarter of 2021 on net sales that dropped 16% to […]
SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects on Monday and Tuesday of this week, including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact becca@steelmarketupdate.com to […]
We’re less than two weeks away from the Tampa Steel Conference. It’s not too late to register, but you should do it ASAP. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel on Sunday-Tuesday Feb. 5-7. Approximately 445 people have already registered, which is more than total attendance last year. New companies are being added […]
New orders for US-manufactured durable goods increased 5.6% in December month over month to $286.9 billion, according to the US Census Bureau. They have been up four of the last five months, with the exception of a 1.7% decline in November. Transportation equipment drove the increase, rising 16.7% to $108.1 billion, Census noted. New orders for primary […]
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized coil base prices has narrowed week over week, but has hovered around the $200-per-ton range since the end of November. Figure 1 shows both SMU’s hot rolled and galvanized prices. SMU’s HRC price averaged $760 per ton ($38 per cwt) as of Tuesday, Jan. 24, an increase from $740 per ton ($37 […]
Existing home sales declined for the eleventh month in a row in December, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). All four major regions in the US registered year-over-year (YoY) drops. And except of the West, all other regions notched month-over-month (MoM) declines as well, NAR said. Sales of existing homes dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual […]
This week’s survey didn’t land quite as I expected. Some data points indicate that the price rally we’ve seen since late November will continue, but others suggest it might be running out of steam. For starters, if you’re an SMU subscriber, you can find our latest market survey results here. If you aren’t, this data […]
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices has remained relatively flat vs December levels, according to Steel Market Update data. Prices for both products rose in January vs. the end of 2022. Our hot-rolled coil price average ticked up $5 per ton week over week to $740 per net ton ($37.00 per cwt) as […]
Steel mill lead times were flat to down this week, declining by an average of 0.5 weeks across all five products we track. Steel buyers reported mill lead times ranging from 4 to 6 weeks for hot rolled and plate, and 5 to 8 weeks for cold rolled, galvanized, and Galvalume. SMU’s hot-rolled lead time […]
US Steel is increasing the warranty policy on Galvalume-coated coils. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said it is doubling the standard limited warranty policy for Galvalume-coated coils used in nonresidential and residential building construction. The new warranties will range from 40-60 years vs. 20-25 years for existing warranties, the company said in a statement. “At US […]
By CRU Senior Analyst, Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Scrap, DRI/HBI & Pig Iron Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) for January rose by 5.5% month-on-month (MoM), to 319.2, registering the fastest MoM growth since last April. The optimism brought in by China’s unexpected reopening has reverberated across major economies and was further boosted by the […]
SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects on Monday and Tuesday of this week, including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact Becca@SteelMarketUpdate.com […]
Sheet prices are up again. I haven’t heard much quibbling with that. Upstream, scrap prices are moving up as they typically do in January. And downstream, we’re seeing service centers raising prices roughly in tandem with domestic mills – or at least holding them steady. No, 2023 is not starting off with a big bang […]
Commercial Metals Co. said high demand in North America and increased market share in Europe helped to lift net earnings 12% in its fiscal first quarter of 2023 vs. the same period a year earlier. The Irving, Texas-based long products steelmaker and recycler posted net earnings of $261.8 million in its fiscal first quarter ended Nov. […]
Steel Market Update’s (SMU) Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index and Future Steel Buyers Sentiment Index both edged down this week. SMU’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Indices measure how steel buyers feel about their company’s ability to be successful in the current market, as well as three to six months down the road. Every other week we […]
Steel Manufacturers Association president Philip K. Bell will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at 11 a.m. ET. You can register here. SMA is the leading voice of the electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking industry in Washington, D.C., which means Bell is ideally suited to discuss important policy […]
The new year is off to a great start, and there’s still time to register for the Tampa Steel Conference as you make your travel plans for 2023. The event will be at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel again, so mark your calendar for Sunday-Tuesday, Feb. 5-7. Nearly 300 of you have registered already. We’re on track […]
Steel Market Update’s (SMU) Current Steel Buyers Sentiment Index rose six points through Dec. 22 compared with two weeks earlier. Our Future Buyers Sentiment Index also jumped, edging up four points from the previous market check. Current Sentiment remains slightly above a month ago. SMU’s Buyers Sentiment Index measures how steel buyers feel about their company’s ability to […]
Nucor Corp. will keep plate prices unchanged with the opening of its February order book. The move comes after the steelmaker announced a sharp decrease in late November. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the move was effective on Dec. 28, in a letter to customers. Published adders and extras will continue to be applied, and the […]
New orders for US-manufactured durable goods fell in November to a seasonally adjusted $270.6 billion, according to the US Census Bureau. Last month’s downward move was the first decline in four months, and well below consensus estimates. Shipments were again slightly higher month over month (MoM), moving higher for 18 of the last 19 months despite […]
This is the final Final Thoughts of 2022. We made it! This time last year I was talking to customers about processing orders. This year I’m writing about market tends. So things are a bit different. But I still notice the steel industry’s typical holiday lull. This week we saw that consumer confidence increased, the USW […]
The US economy’s growth was even better than expected in the third quarter, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said in its third and final review. Gross Domestic Production (GDP) accelerated to a 3.2% annualized pace in Q3. That’s an improvement from the previously estimated government reading in November, which showed 2.9% […]
US Steel Corp. and the United Steelworkers (USW) union announced on Tuesday they have agreed to a new labor pact after USW members ratified the terms of a new, four-year collective agreement. The USW-represented employees — roughly 11,0000 across 13 US Steel flat-rolled, iron ore mining, and tubular operations — voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of […]