The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: In the last month, HR spot prices have had a fairly wide range, trading at least a $40/ST range based on reported […]
California Steel Industries notified customers on Wednesday that it will be raising the extra charge for galvanized coatings due to an increase in the market price of zinc. CSI advised customers: “Due to changing zinc costs, our Galvanized Coating Extras have been revised. These changes will be effective beginning with orders placed for October shipment […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S-produced steel continues to hold a heavy price advantage over foreign imports, albeit slightly less than mid-August, according to SMU and CRU indices. After slightly shrinking in May, the differentials between domestic HRC compared to German, Italian and East/Southeast Asian imports widened over the last […]
Global steel production continued to decline in July. The World Steel Association reports crude production fell 2.5 percent year-over-year to 152.7 million metric tons based on reporting and estimates by 64 countries. The COVID-19 crisis and its disruption to economic activity was blamed for the fifth month of consecutive decline. Robust demand boosted China crude […]
Sentiment in the ferrous scrap markets is bullish leading into September, pointing to higher prices on both prime and obsolete scrap next month. That bodes well for the price increases on flat rolled and plate steel products announced by the mills this week. Domestic demand continues to improve as scrap yard inflows remain relatively weak. […]
Prices for flat rolled steel products moved up by as much as $20 per ton in the past week, while plate increased by $10, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. SMU’s Price Momentum is higher on sheet products, but Neutral on plate products, as the plate mills’ price […]
Many steel buyers have been anticipating a price increase, and the plate mills were the first to make a move. ArcelorMittal USA, Nucor and SSAB all announced changes to their plate prices, but not in the typical lock-step fashion. Nucor informed customers on Friday that it was setting a minimum base price of $28/cwt ($560 […]
For the 11th week in a row, domestic steelmakers continued to dial up their production–a sign of improving steel demand. Raw steel output by U.S. mills totaled 1,412,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 22, with the mills hitting an average utilization rate of 63.0 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. That’s a […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. has revised their galvanized coating extras due to the recent increase in zinc prices. SMU has done an analysis on the old and new extras, provided below. SDI extras increased an average of 20.3 percent. Zinc prices declined significantly during the first quarter of the year, dropping from January’s high of $1.1186 […]
Galvalume supplies are shaping up to be tight in the fourth quarter, but fears of a shortage may be overstated, sources tell Steel Market Update. Despite a recent press report to the contrary, Galvalume is one of the strongest steel sectors right now. “There is no shortage at the right price,” said one mill executive. […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service U.S. sheet steel prices hit their lowest point of the year on Aug. 12 and are slated to rise as steel consumption has been increasing. Steel mill capacity utilization reached 61.5 percent in the week ended Aug. 15, up from 60.4 percent the […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have held steady in the past week as import restrictions on Australian ore have disrupted the supply chain and reduced the availability of Australian fines. As a result, port inventories of fines products remain at the lowest level in years. […]
U.S apparent steel supply inched upwards in June to 6.93 million net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute data. While up over the previous month, April and May were the two lowest supply levels in the last 10 years at 6.54 million tons and 6.61 million tons, respectively. […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market were led lower by declines in HR and CR coil. The price of HR coil is now back down to the low reached in early May, though market participants have noted that low priced offers have become scarce. […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Steel markets have recovered from the depths of Covid-19 global disruption, but this has varied in pace across regions and has been stop-start in many. Indeed, as measured by CRU’s global finished steel CRUspi, finished steel prices bottomed in May at 129.3, the lowest reading […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices continued their upward trajectory and traded at $123.0 /dmt on Tuesday, Aug. 18, a $3.0 /dmt increase w/w. Chinese demand remains strong and the challenges of delivering ore from vessels to steelmakers remain in place. Chinese domestic steel prices have […]
Hannibal Industries, the long-time California-based manufacturer of structural and mechanical tubing, has decided to exit the tubing products market to concentrate on its racking and material handling business. “Hannibal has made the decision to direct all of our tubular product manufacturing capacity, our capital and our human energy into our material handling products and services. […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices now hold the widest price advantage over foreign imports in our limited 10-year data history, according to SMU and CRU indices. After slightly shrinking in May, the price gap between domestic HRC compared to German, Italian, and East/Southeast Asian imports has widened over […]
U.S. steel exports in June increased 20 percent from the prior month’s 24-year low. Now standing at 423,000 tons, June exports are 29 percent lower than levels one year prior, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. The 2020 monthly average for exports has decreased to 522,000 tons, whereas the first six months of […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen and Economist Ippolito Tarabini, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The economy is in the midst of a recession triggered by a health crisis. That makes this recession unusual and different. Here we examine how this recession compares to previous recessions. From that we infer key features of the […]
The analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source nation. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about local import volume is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis is to describe in detail what is going on in a […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows hot rolled offers typically in the $460-$480 range. But sources tell us actual transactions are occurring anywhere from $480 down to $400, depending on volumes and other considerations. Thus, SMU puts the current benchmark price for hot rolled at $440 per ton, down $10 from […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows flat rolled steel prices firming up a bit as demand slowly recovers from the coronavirus disruptions. SMU puts the current benchmark price for hot rolled at $465 per ton, up from $440 last week. SMU’s Price Momentum Indicators remain at Neutral, though the market may […]
Capacity utilization by the domestic mills has topped 60 percent once again as the economy and steel demand continue their slow, painful recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,354,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 8, with the mills hitting an average utilization rate of […]
Capacity utilization by domestic steelmakers rose for the 10th week in a row last week, but remained about 25 percent behind production in the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,377,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 15, with the mills hitting […]
U.S. steel mills shipped 6,023,524 net tons in June, a 10.3 percent increase from the 5,461,851 net tons shipped in the previous month, but a 22.0 percent decrease from the 7,718,499 net tons shipped in June 2019, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute. Shipments year-to-date in 2020 total 41,218,207 net tons, a 14.5 percent […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive subscribers. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. July was the ninth consecutive month where imports were down by more than 20 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the latest Commerce Department data. […]
Ferrous scrap prices for August were not as weak as expected, but varied widely by region. Prices on the East Coast and in the Southeast were up $30/GT due to strong export demand, while prices in other parts of the country traded sideways for obsolete grades and down $20-30 for primes, report Steel Market Update […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot rolled futures volumes have been a bit uneven as forecast uncertainty remains while businesses continue to navigate through a difficult summer […]
Recently released Census data shows final June steel imports totaled 1.40 million net tons, down 22 percent from May and down 50 percent from March, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. This is the lowest monthly import level since November 2009 when total imports were 1.38 million tons. This final June figure is just […]