Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this new role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategy for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a Trader at Cargill spending time in Metal […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive members in this issue. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. This early look at November import license data shows that total rolled product imports declined by 17.3 percent year over year, calculated as a three-month moving average (3MMA). Imports of […]
Flat rolled steel prices seem to be on a bit of an extra rollercoaster ride as the domestic mills fill out any holes in their order book for December and book new orders for January and February. Over the past few weeks, Steel Market Update has managed to collect some very low data points on […]
Steel Market Update spent a portion of the day today speaking with trading companies about their view of the markets, demand and the amount of foreign steel projected to come into the United States over the next few months. The traders are worried about what will happen to their customers if the amount of foreign […]
Raw steel production by U.S. steelmakers in the week ending Dec. 1 backslid a bit, but stayed above the 80 percent level that the mills hope to maintain. Steel production totaled 1,892,000 net tons for the week, down a slight 0.7 percent from the prior week, but up 11.1 percent from the prior year. The […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel prices (delivered to U.S. ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other costs […]
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: Steel HR spot prices continued to fall this week breaking down through the $800/ST [$40/cwt] level. The HR futures followed suit. Futures […]
U.S. steel imports are trending down in November to around 2.5 million tons from the preliminary total of 3.3 million tons in October, according to import license data from the Department of Commerce. The November decline is largely a result of fewer imports of semi-finished products. Imports of slabs jumped in October to nearly 1.3 […]
Both Steel Market Update and the CRU Group forecast lower steel prices next year. With a new North America free trade agreement soon to be signed, the U.S. is likely to lift or modify the Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico, opening the borders to more imports and adding to the downward pressure on […]
Editor’s note: The following global perspective was contributed by the CRU Group’s international team of steel analysts. Steel sheet prices are trending downward in most parts of the world. North America Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market continued to decline with HR and CR coil prices falling the most. Declines have come alongside weak […]
We did not collect as many low price data points on hot rolled this week as we did last. We did see erosion at the upper end of the range as most offers appear to be trending below $800 per ton. Steel buyers continue to worry about the basic laws of supply and demand. There […]
After rising in October and November, ferrous scrap prices are expected to move sideways in December with the possibility of a small $10 per ton increase for some grades. But weakness overseas complicates predictions longer term, say Steel Market Update sources. “December is generally a month when scrap prices rise,” said CRU North America Steel […]
Few of the steel buyers canvassed by Steel Market Update this week expect flat roll prices to rise significantly in the first quarter. Most anticipate prices stabilizing or continuing to trend downward, especially if the Trump administration lifts the Section 232 tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The promise of increased supplies from the […]
U.S. steelmakers have produced 5.6 percent more raw steel so far this year. Adjusted year-to-date production through Nov. 24 totaled 85,639,000 net tons. The increase is the result of a nearly 4 percent improvement in capacity utilization, to an average annual rate of 78.1 percent from 74.2 percent in 2017, reports the American Iron and […]
Flat rolled steel prices dropped again this week. One of our domestic steel mill sources told us this afternoon, “Everything is down about a buck from last week.” This source went on to say that the U.S. steel mills are producing more and exporting less. The net result being there is more supply available. Here […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released updated license data on October and November foreign steel imports on Tuesday. The latest data shows October imports at just over 3 million net tons, well above the 2.3 million ton dip reported for the month of September. The majority of this change is due to an increase in […]
September apparent steel supply declined to 9,101,986 net tons, according to government data released late last week. This is the third lowest level of the year, above only February (8.8 million tons) and June (8.9 million tons). Apparent steel supply is calculated by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total […]
Mill utilization among domestic steelmakers continues to inch upward and is now well above the profitable 80 percent level the industry hopes to maintain. U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 17 totaled 1,924,000 net tons for a capability utilization rate of 82.1 percent, a half-percent more than the prior week and a […]
By the CRU Zinc Analysis Team After reaching a 3-month high above $2,700/t on Oct. 24, zinc’s price shed $200/t in a matter of days as a tech stock rout caused shares to plunge in Asia and the USA, compounded by concerns over the outlook for global trade and economic growth. The tide briefly turned […]
Steel buyers can be fickle people. They are tasked with keeping their company in product, and that those purchases be competitively priced at the time they are used. This is a daunting task when markets ebb and flow, and even more difficult when the government decides to become a major player in determining who will […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices have lifted since last week, primarily due to concerns over BHP suspending operations on its Pilbara network. [Editor’s note: BHP suspended rail operations in Western Australia after it was forced to deliberately derail a runaway ore train on Nov. 5.] This caused iron ore prices to […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce has released import license data for the months of October and November through the 13th of the month. October foreign steel imports are expected to reach 3 million net tons on the back of almost 900,000 net tons of semi-finished steels (mostly slabs going to the domestic steel mills). It […]
Flat rolled steel prices dropped this week based on our analysis of the market. Benchmark hot rolled coil dropped $5 per ton and is now averaging $800 per ton ($40.00/cwt). We saw even larger negative price movements in cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels. Plate prices, however, were flat and the expectation of plate steel […]
Domestic steelmakers have been able to sustain operations above 80 percent capacity utilization for a month now, keeping production at the highest rate seen in a decade. U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 10 totaled 1,915,000 net tons, a utilization rate of 81.7 percent, just slightly below the prior week, but a 12.1 […]
U.S. steel exports in September totaled 584,858 net tons (530,575 metric tons), down 9.6 percent from August and down 35.3 percent from September 2017. Surpassing August’s low, this is now the lowest total monthly export figure seen since December 2002 when 527,659 tons were shipped out of the country. Prior to the last three months, […]
Gaurav Chhibbar is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this new role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategy for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Gaurav’s previous role, he was a Trader at Cargill spending time in Metal […]
Total rolled product imports declined by 20.4 percent in October, versus the same month last year, measured as a three-month moving average, but the effects of Section 232 are still not clear. This early look at October’s import volume is based on Commerce Department license data (see explanation below). Figure 1 shows the tonnage of […]
Flat rolled steel prices continue to vacillate as we saw the low end of our range on benchmark hot rolled coil improve by $20 per ton. We are aware of a couple end-of-the-year deals that are below our range, but we feel at this point they are limited and not available to the greater market. […]
Domestic steelmakers achieved their highest production rate in a decade last week, hitting a capability utilization of 81.8 percent. The last time production was higher was the week ending Sept. 27, 2008, when the mills operated at 83.2 percent and produced nearly 2 million tons. U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Nov. 3 […]