Spot plate prices have not budged this week, according to the numerous data points received from both large and small plate buyers today. Our range is $980 to $1,030 per ton delivered with an average of $1,005 per ton. The domestic plate mills continue to be on “controlled order entry” (they don’t like the word […]
U.S. mills have cranked out steel at a capability utilization rate of 79.0 percent or better for nine weeks in a row, but only briefly have breached the 80 percent mark. U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Oct. 6 totaled 1,851,000 net tons with the mills operating at 79.0 percent capacity, reported the American […]
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 […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released Final Census Data on August foreign steel imports late last week. The final data shows August imports hit 3,034,752 net tons, just slightly above the 2,987,565 net tons reported for the month of July. Total imports continue to be resilient, mostly on the back of semi-finished steels (mostly slabs […]
Rolled product imports into the United States were down by 21.6 percent in September on a three-month moving average basis compared with the prior year, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of import license data. Figure 1 shows the tonnage of total rolled steel and semi-finished imports through September on a 3MMA basis. The […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market was written by David Feldstein. As the Flack Global Metals Chief Market Risk Officer, Dave is an active participant in the hot rolled futures market, and we believe he provides insightful commentary and trading ideas to our readers. Besides writing futures articles for Steel […]
Hot rolled prices slipped this week while the other flat rolled products pretty much held their own. Plate prices in December are running essentially unchanged to November with limited spot tons available. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $820-$860 per ton ($41.00/cwt-$43.00/cwt) with an average of […]
U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Sept. 29 totaled 1,856,000 net tons, up 8.5 percent from the same period last year but down 0.4 percent from the prior week, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute. The mill capability utilization rate of 79.2 percent, up from 73.4 percent this time last year, remained […]
CSN continues to export slabs and coated steels to the United States, but tariffs and quotas make the market a challenge for the Brazilian steelmaker, reports a Steel Market Update source. Earlier this year, Steel Dynamics bought the CSN conversion mill in Terre Haute, Ind. At the time of the purchase, the company had two […]
Cleveland Cliffs and the United Steelworkers have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year labor contract that is effective as of Oct. 1, 2018. Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President and CEO, stated, “We are pleased to reach a new labor contract that is fair and equitable to both parties and provides Cliffs a competitive cost […]
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 […]
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce released preliminary steel import license data for August and updated license data for September. The latest August figure has total imports at just under three million net tons, less than 1 percent lower than July levels. Compared to our monthly averages, August preliminary data is 6 percent less […]
U.S. tariffs on steel imports appear to be having the expected effect. Two-thirds of the way through a year when the economy and steel demand are booming, imports are down by double digits. Citing preliminary Census Bureau data, the American Iron and Steel Institute reports that the United States imported 23,839,000 net tons of steel […]
World crude steel production increased by 2.6 percent in August and was up by 4.8 percent through the first eight months of 2018. Leading the way was China with a 5.8 percent increase in production for the year to more than 617 million metric tons, reports the World Steel Association. WSA members represent about 85 […]
The slippage in spot pricing has slowed as flat rolled and plate prices continue to remain firm. We saw a tightening of the spread on hot rolled as both the upper and lower ends of the range moved closer. The other flat rolled products saw strength at the lower end of the range with adjustments […]
The percentage of manufacturing companies and service centers reporting distributor spot prices as weakening is nearing the SMU level of capitulation. Capitulation is the point at which steel distributors are panicking and dumping what is perceived as high-priced steel into the spot market at ever lower prices. The process feeds on itself and the distributors […]
Ferrous scrap prices have been on the decline, but may find a bottom in October, as most Steel Market Update sources forecast flat to slightly higher pricing next month. CRU Steel Analyst Ryan McKinley reports that sentiment seems to be building for a “strong sideways” market in October. “If this play’s out, it will be […]
U.S. raw steel production for the week ending Sept. 22 totaled 1,863,000 net tons, up 8.9 percent from the same period last year and 0.1 percent from the prior week, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute. The mill capability utilization rate of 79.5 percent, up from 73.4 percent this time last year, once again […]
TransCanada plans to begin construction on the Keystone XL pipeline next year now that the State Department has released an environmental review for an alternative route through Nebraska. A report released Friday by the State Department concluded that it is unlikely a pipeline leak would cause major environmental damage due to extensive safeguards put in […]
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 […]
On Friday, Steel Market Update received a note from one of our readers asking why foreign steel import totals have not dropped. The domestic mills have won countless antidumping and countervailing duty suits against flat rolled and plate products. The president has placed 25 percent tariffs on steel, citing national security as the reason to […]
When looking at the last four years of import data, as well as the first seven months of data available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, we are seeing a reduction in most flat rolled products. Of the past four years, 2014 was by far the biggest year for foreign steel imports into the United […]
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 The HR spot market has continued to decline, however we have a bit of a divergence as the HR futures curve prices […]
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Commerce released license data for the month of September. Steel Market Update takes that data, turns it into a daily average and then uses that number to project where we see the trend taking the total by the end of the month. The past few months have been […]
Steel Market Update saw slippage in the lower end of the ranges on hot rolled, cold rolled and Galvalume steel prices this week. Galvanized remained the same, as did plate. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $810-$890 per ton ($40.50/cwt-$44.50/cwt) with an average of $850 per […]
U.S. raw steel production slipped by a slight 0.9 percent last week, nudging the mill capability utilization rate back below 80 percent once again. The American Iron and Steel Institute reported an average utilization rate for the week ending Sept. 15 of 79.4 percent, down from the 80.2 percent level in the prior week. But steel […]
The United Steelworkers bargaining team presented Cleveland Cliffs with an economic proposal to address issues ranging from pay increases to the sustainability of Hibbing Taconite. The proposal is based on feedback from a survey of member concerns conducted earlier this year. In an interview with reporters on Friday, CEO Lourenco Goncalves said ore from the […]
Earlier last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest foreign steel import license data for the months of August, and the new data for September. The August number suggests the month will come in around 3 million net tons, which is higher than July as well as the 3-month and 12-month moving averages. […]
Steel Market Update was speaking with one of the plate mills regarding their maintenance schedules and order books, which we reported on in Thursday evening’s issue of our SMU newsletter. During the conversation, there was a discussion about what was causing the tightness in the marketplace, and the mill mentioned the drastically lower plate imports […]
This analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source country. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about local import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis is to describe in detail what is going on in a […]