Foreign steel imports dropped to an eight-year low in December, coming in under 2 million net tons, according to final data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Removing the 200,000 tons of semi-finished steels (mostly slabs used by domestic steel mills), finished steel imports were just under 1.7 million net tons. As shown […]
Steel Market Update did not see a huge move in flat rolled steel prices this week. Our benchmark hot rolled average rose a modest $5 per ton, but is still below $700 per ton and a long way away from the $730 per ton suggested by ArcelorMittal USA in their announcement email. The other flat […]
Here is an early look at some of the companies that have already registered for the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference. Those with an asterisk (*) next to their name have already registered multiple executives for this year’s conference. We are ahead of the pace of last year, which ended up netting us 912 attendees. […]
It is now the beginning of March and time to take a look back at the month of February to see what happened to pricing and trends that impact pricing. The SMU Pricing Momentum Indicator for flat rolled steel was adjusted to higher and our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index rose when looked at as […]
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 […]
Flat rolled steel prices have begun moving higher. Benchmark hot rolled coil (HRC), which has been one of the weakest of the flat rolled products recently, was up $10 per ton. Cold rolled did even better, up $15; galvanized better than CR, up $20; and Galvalume bested them all, up $25 per ton compared to […]
As of Feb. 26, with the month nearly complete, U.S. steel imports were trending at less than 2.5 million tons, based on license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. February imports are likely to finish the month well below January and below the 3- and 12-month moving averages as well. Semi-finished steels continue to […]
As part of our process of strengthening Steel Market Update’s services, we have made some improvements and enhancements. After reviewing our subscription models, and receiving feedback from our valued customers, we have streamlined our membership options. We believe these changes will be beneficial for our members and allow for greater access to the service. The […]
We are pleased to unveil the first look at the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference program. It has taken six months to get the agenda for this year’s conference to this point. It will be six more months of finetuning before we unleash the speakers, the videos, and the music on those who will be […]
We are pleased to unveil the first look at the 2019 SMU Steel Summit Conference program. It has taken six months to get the agenda for this year’s conference to this point. It will be six more months of finetuning before we unleash the speakers, the videos, and the music on those who will be […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, decreased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 4 to 1,047, with oil rigs down 4 and gas rigs unchanged. Compared to this time last year, the 1,047 count is up […]
We found mixed results in flat rolled steel prices this week. Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that the bottom has been “firming” and that prices are moving sideways to slightly higher on most products. SMU talks more about price momentum and pricing in a separate article in tonight’s issue. Here is how we […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released new license data through the 19th of February and the trend for imports is at 2.6 million net tons (+/- 200,000 tons). Semi-finished steels continue to be the largest single product imported, with most being slabs heading to mills like California Steel, NLMK USA, JSW USA and ArcelorMittal Mobile. […]
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 […]
February imports are trending high, close to 3 million net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce license data released Feb. 12. However, looking at the data more closely, the domestic steel mills continue to bring in a tremendous amount of semi-finished steels (slabs, billets – but most are slabs). The mills are on pace […]
November apparent steel supply was calculated at 9,140,649 net tons, according to data released late last week. Apparent steel supply is determined by adding domestic steel shipments and finished U.S. steel imports, then subtracting total U.S. steel exports. November apparent steel supply saw a 417,102 ton or 4.8 percent increase compared to the same month […]
U.S. steel exports in November totaled 615,818 net tons (558,661 metric tons), down 2.4 percent from October, and down 30.2 percent from levels one year ago. After the September 2018 low of 584,858 tons, last November is the next lowest month for exports since February 2009 when 602,945 tons of steel were exported outside of […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, increased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 4 to 1,049, with oil rigs up 7 and gas rigs down 3. Compared to this time last year, the 1,049 count is […]
We gathered mixed results regarding flat rolled and plate steel pricing over the past two days. When we say mixed, we don’t mean some prices falling while other prices were rising. What we found was pricing stable to rising. We heard from a number of buyers that there were mills still actively pursuing prices at, […]
Steel Market Update data and comments from industry executives suggest that steel prices may be near a firm bottom. Prices are trying to move higher following the mills’ $40 per ton increase announcement last month. SMU’s Steel Price Momentum Indicators remains at Neutral, but we will be reviewing the situation over the next few days. […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released all kinds of foreign steel import data late this afternoon. We are studying the numbers to see if they make sense, as one of the steel mills told SMU late today that the mechanical pipe and some of the other pipe categories appear to be out of whack. In […]
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 […]
January got off to a tentative start as steel prices continued to decline, leaving buyers with a cautious perspective on the months ahead. Steel Market Update’s Buyers Sentiment Index shows buyers slightly less optimistic than they were in November. Sentiment factors into buyers’ decision-making about such factors as purchasing, inventory levels, capital investment and hiring. […]
Total heating and cooling equipment shipments in December rose 3.0 percent compared to one year ago, according to data released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) on Friday. Excluding the 5.1 percent slip last September, total monthly equipment shipments on a year-over-year basis have increased every month since November 2016. Residential and commercial […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released import license data through the month of December 2018 earlier this week. The December license data is showing a large reduction in semi-finished imports (mostly slabs going to domestic steel mills). SMU believes the lower slab numbers may be due to quotas from Brazil having been reached, thus capping […]
We have seen Nucor, U.S. Steel, NLMK USA and ArcelorMittal move spot flat rolled base prices up $40 per ton effective immediately. That is what was announced this week. The reality is not yet clear, and the prices referenced in tonight’s pricing assessment only marginally take the increases into account as negotiations are very early […]
The U.S. active rotary rig count, an indicator of oil country tubular goods demand, increased this week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The number of active U.S. rigs rose by 9 to 1,059, with oil rigs up 10 and gas rigs down 1. Compared to this time last year, the 1,059 count is […]
All is quiet on the eastern front (the western front announced increases yesterday – so, not so quiet there). Steel buyers have been telling Steel Market Update over the past few days that their inventories are stable to high, they are not comfortable with all of the uncertainty and concerned with the lack of transparency […]
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 […]
When we looked at the hot rolled coil market this week, it became apparent there were a number of pressures on that particular product. Pressures from short lead times, for one. Some of our sources reported HRC lead times around 2-3 weeks. We also have at least one mill looking for market share with numbers […]