If you’re seeking a peak, keep looking. Because it wasn’t this week. Steel Market Update found that spot prices for most sheet and plate products were again higher – despite scattered reports of increased availability for some contract buyers. SMU’s benchmark hot-rolled coil prices stands $1,760 per ton ($88/cwt), up $40 per ton from last […]
Plate prices have seen an astronomical rise, but the big gains have not been enough to keep the spread between sheet and plate from ballooning. And that spread is already the inverse of what is the norm. Normally plate prices carry a premium to sheet prices – now the reverse is true. Sheet carries around a […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,839,000 net tons in the week ended June 19, up 0.3% compared with the week prior when production was 1,834,000 net tons. The average mill utilization rate was 82.9%, also up 0.3% week on week, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Last week’s output represents a […]
SSAB Americas aims to increase steel plate prices by at least $100 per ton ($5/cwt) effective immediately on all new spot orders. The increase applies equally to as-rolled mill plate and coil, cut-to-length plate, normalized plate, and quenched-and-tempered plate, the company said in a letter to customers on Monday, June 21. “In addition to this […]
By Jeremy Flack, Flack Global Metals (Editor’s note: Jeremy Flack, the CEO of Flack Global Metals, will be among speakers in the Steel Futures Showcase during the Pre-Summit Workshop on Monday, Aug. 23, in advance of Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit in Atlanta.) One of the famous quotes from the 1992 movie “Glengarry Glen Ross” […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran U.S. sheet prices are still trending higher, which has supported further gains in raw materials, slabs and imported steel. Even though CRU HR coil prices have increased 7.4% m/m to $1,655 /s.ton on June 16, market contacts still report a lack of workable offers, especially given lead times into […]
The traditional correlations between finished steel and scrap prices have broken down this year, and historical spreads might remain off-kilter as more electric-arc furnace (EAF) mills come online globally, CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley said. Crude steel output via EAFs in North America is expected to grow by about 16 million metric tonnes, approximately 20%, […]
The spread between foreign and domestic steel prices has changed direction again since our last update, according to our latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. The price differentials (after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration) between domestic HRC and foreign imports had surged from February to March of this year, reaching record […]
Steel prices will turn lower and quickly fall back in the next 6-12 months, but mill profitability will remain substantial, predicted Principal Analyst Josh Spoores during CRU’s virtual New York Steel Seminar on Wednesday. Steel prices have hit historic highs, with hot rolled offers at more than $1,700 per ton, as demand continues to outstrip supply. […]
Hot-rolled coil prices have broken through the $1,700 per ton ($85 per cwt) threshold and now average $1,720 per ton. That’s up $45 per ton from a week ago and closing in on quadruple a 2020 low – reached last August – of $440 per ton. The latest gains come after Steel Market Update’s sentiment […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,834,000 net tons in the week ended June 12, down a slight 0.3% compared to the week prior, but still at a healthy mill utilization rate of 82.6%. That compares to production of 1,272,000 net tons and mill utilization of just 56.8% in the same period last year […]
April apparent steel supply declined 189,000 tons from March’s high to 8.77 million net tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. This is the second highest suppy level seen since January 2020, just behind the March 2021 high. April supply is up 2.24 million tons compared […]
Like the flat rolled steel they are made from, prices for pipe and tube products have increased in June. Leading producers said they are upping their prices due to rising raw materials costs, strong demand and volatile transportation charges. EXLTUBE led off a series of tubular price jumps with a $160 per net ton increase […]
By Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steelmaking Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) increased by 8.6% m/m in June to 402.4. This increase is primarily a reflection of large price increases for scrap in Europe and the U.S., although some increases occurred in Asia as well. After rising substantially in May, pig iron […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in northern Europe, like in other areas of the world, have begun to decline – although prices in the USA have yet to follow this trend. Still, it appears that this upward trend in the U.S. market is nearing an end. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Richard Lu, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor In September 2020, President Xi Jinping formally announced that China will aim to achieve a peak in carbon emissions before 2030, followed by carbon neutrality before 2060. As part of the decarbonization efforts, the Chinese government at the start of the year announced […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis We have just refreshed our expectations on aluminum for 2021 in our latest of the CRU Aluminum Market Outlook. Here are some of the key takeaways: Demand Is Strong The World ex China is into its recovery from the the Covid-19 pandemic. We expect to see sharp year-on-year growth […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Ten years ago the aluminum can, and the aluminum sheet mills that supplied them, looked to be on borrowed time. Aluminum beverage can shipments, as reported by the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) had been flatlining for years. Can manufacturers were consolidating, with Ball and Ardagh acquiring Rexam assets in […]
By CRU Principal Aluminum Analyst Guillaume Osouf The LME aluminum price has been going through a period of consolidation since it reached its last significant peak at $2,603 /t on May 10. A similar situation was observed between December 2020 and February 2021 before the rally resumed even stronger. Can we expect the same to […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis On June 28, the Russian government announced the imposition of a 15% tax on aluminum exports. The tax is effective for the period August through December 2021 and covers most primary aluminum exports. This appears to be a case of the Russian government making an opportunistic “raid” on one […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis The COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on overall aluminum demand in 2020 was well documented. However, that storyline masked a remarkable rebound in the demand for aluminum beverage cans. Data from the Aluminum Association shows this: • 2020 total domestic shipments of can stock supplied to the can market rose 3.3% […]
U.S. steel exports declined 4% in April to 760,000 tons, according to recently released U.S. Department of Commerce trade data. Althought down over the month prior, recall that March exports were at the highest level seen since June 2018. Of our six monitored product groups, the single product with a month-over-month increase was cut-to-length plate, […]
U.S. steel exports declined 2% in May to 742,000 tons, according to recently released U.S. Department of Commerce trade data. Although down from the month prior, recall that March and April exports were at the two highest levels seen since June 2018. May marks the third highest monthly export level since June 2018. Of our […]
This report examines the import share of tubular and long products shipments. Imports’ share of total tubular products rose to 46.6% in April, up from 46.2% in March. Both domestic shipments (-7.0%) and imports of tubular products (-5.8%) fell month on month, yet domestic shipments edged down at a stronger clip when compared to March. […]
This report examines the import share of sheet and plate products. Imports’ share of total sheet product shipments was 12.5% in April, down from 12.7% in March. By comparison, the import share of total plate product shipments jumped to 19.9% in April, up from 15.7% the month prior. Import share for sheet products has dipped […]
Editor’s note: SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held a variety of commercial […]
The energy tubulars market is still waiting for the boom flat-rolled steel prices – the sector’s primary input cost – to flow through to pipe selling prices, according to one industry expert. On the face of it, things look good. Oil prices are improving, the rig count is up dramatically versus a year ago, and […]
Hot-rolled coil prices charged higher yet again even as lead times stretched into August, a typically slower time of the year. Is a year-long hot streak for sheet possible? The answer in ordinary times would be ‘no’. But these are not ordinary times. Hot-rolled coil prices have hit a new all-time high of $1,675 per […]
U.S. ferrous scrap prices have settled up $60 per gross ton on prime grades and up $50 per gross ton on obsoletes, according to market participants. “Regional markets were very consistent with the up $50 (per gross ton) on obsolete grades and up $60 (per gross ton) for primes,” one scrap executive said. “This resulted […]
Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,840,000 net tons in the week ended June 5, up 0.2% compared to the week prior when production totaled 1,836,000 net tons, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The mill utilization rate last week averaged 82.3%, up from 81.5% the week before and up 46.3% […]