Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel are beginning to feel more optimistic about their company’s ability to be successful both in the current market environment as well as three to six months out into the future. Those in the industry seem to be bucking the national pessimistic trend we see on television every night […]
The vast majority of the respondents to our latest flat rolled steel market analysis believe that the domestic steel mills will be able to collect “some” of the latest round of price increases which range from $20 to $30 per ton. In our latest assessment of the flat rolled market, we asked whether the domestic […]
Based on the results of our flat rolled steel market analysis, all of the flat rolled lead times are averaging longer lead times than what we measured one year ago. The SMU steel market questionnaire found the average lead time on hot rolled coil (HRC) was 3.91 weeks, up from a 3.63 week average reported […]
As lead times move out (see article above) we traditionally find the mills less willing to negotiate flat rolled steel prices. We asked those taking our mid-January flat rolled steel market survey to provide us information regarding the willingness of the U.S. steel mills to discount or negotiate steel prices. Hot rolled, which has been […]
As those of you up north look out your windows at a winter wonderland (ice, snow, cold, windy…) I want you to think about our Leadership Summit Conference which will be held in warm, sunny Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It’s the kind of place you want to bring your family – kids can play on […]
The domestic steel mills announced a new round of price increases earlier this month. Steel prices are responding by moving higher, at least by a portion of the second increase. We are hearing from our sources that the mills have been able to collect $40-$50 or essentially all of the first price increase by this […]
With all of the key flat rolled products, hot rolled, cold rolled and corrosion resistant steels involved in antidumping and countervailing trade suits and the results of the preliminary determinations coming out it can be daunting to keep track of where each case rests at this point in time. Steel Market Update reached out to […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released foreign steel import license data for the month of January. Based on license data through the 19th of January steel imports are trending toward a 2.3-2.5 million net ton month. If the trend continues the month would be well below both the 3 month and 12 month moving averages […]
I am pleased to announce that we have been given permission to take our next Steel 101 workshop to Ohio and to tour the Northstar Bluescope steel mill. Northstar Bluescope Steel has an exceptional reputation for both quality and efficiency and we are looking forward to seeing the mill in action. We will have more […]
Flat rolled steel prices are beginning to catch some wind behind their backs this past week according to the various steel indices followed by Steel Market Update. Benchmark hot rolled prices moved from a low of $4 per ton (SteelBenchmarker at $386) to as much as $20 per ton (Platts at $410). What is undeniable […]
Twice per month Steel Market Update conducts a review of the flat rolled steel markets and one of the items on our questionnaire is how far out are steel mill spot lead times. We also follow lead times as published by the domestic mills to their customers which we share with our readers from time […]
SMU will begin our mid-January flat rolled steel market analysis beginning at 8 AM on Monday. If you receive an invitation to participate, please take a few moments to click on the link (button) which will take you to SurveyMonkey.com where our questionnaire is housed. Premium level members, as well as those who participate in […]
AK Steel kept their press release announcing their new flat rolled steel pricing short and sweet: “West Chester, OH, January 13, 2016—AK Steel (NYSE: AKS) said today that it will increase current spot market base prices for all carbon flat-rolled steel products by $30 per ton, effective immediately with new orders.” Here is what their […]
On Tuesday evening ArcelorMittal advised their customers of their intention to raise carbon flat rolled sheet prices. In an email to their customers the mill advised that they would be raising prices on hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steels (galvanized and Galvalume). The mill told their customers: “Effective immediately with all new quotations, ArcelorMittal […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce updated January 2016 foreign steel import license data earlier this week. For a number of months Steel Market Update has been comparing the data to see how the current month’s numbers compare to prior months in an effort to get a better handle on the trend. January’s number may be […]
Over the last two flat rolled steel market analysis performed by Steel Market Update (the last concluding this past Thursday, January 7th) we have seen a dramatic break in the overall (all participants included) demand trend. As you can see by the graphic provided, over the past two quarters we saw the rise and peak […]
There is a reason why Steel Market Update looks to the ITR Economics to provide economic forecasts and overviews for our conferences. The company is just darn good at evaluating the data and steering us in the right direction. The Institute for Trend Research (ITR Economics) reported the results of their 2015 forecast made in […]
After reviewing the results of last week’s flat rolled market analysis (our survey) I continue to be optimistic that business conditions will continue to improve as 2016 progresses. We broke the negative trend in our Sentiment Index, we are seeing more optimistic results from manufacturing as they look out three to six months into the […]
The prices we have referenced in tonight’s issue do not reflect the new price increase announcements. We understand that there are new prices floating in the marketplace that has galvanized and Galvalume base prices at $28.50/cwt and hot rolled well over $400 per ton. However, the numbers we have been collecting since Monday are showing […]
Nucor Sheet Mill Group got the flat rolled pricing ball rolling earlier today as they advised their customers by emailed letter that base prices will rise on new spot orders by a minimum of: Hot Rolled: $20 per ton ($1.00/cwt)Cold Rolled: $30 per ton ($1.50/cwt)Galvanized: $30 per ton ($1.50/cwt) Nucor did not advise of any […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce issued their Preliminary Determination on countervailing duties (CVD) of hot rolled coil from Brazil, Turkey and South Korea. Affirmative results were found against Brazil with CSN and Usiminas both receiving subsidy rates of 7.42 percent. All other Brazilian mills not named also received 7.42 percent subsidy rates. Turkey and South […]
We thought our readers might find it interesting to review the past four years worth of imports from the three countries mentioned in the countervailing (CVD) duty preliminary determination just released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The numbers in the table below are net tons and are annualized (yes, Brazil only shipped 4,467 tons […]
Steel Market Update participated in the monthly galvanized steel focused conference call sponsored by HARDI (*) earlier today. The wholesalers and manufacturers who participated in the call reported rising prices out of their domestic mill suppliers. Most reported the mills as having collected $20 to as much as $40 per ton since the increases were […]
Plate price increase announcements actually preceded those of hot rolled, cold rolled and coated products. On Monday, both Nucor and Evraz North America sent out letters to their customers advising plate prices would be rising by $30 per ton. The Evraz letter said: “Please be advised that effective immediately with all new orders, Evraz NA […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the final census data for foreign steel imports for the month of November. November imports were 2,453,593 net tons (not metric tons as we have already made the conversion from the US DOC charts) which is significantly below both the 3 month and 12 month moving averages (see table […]
The last couple of days have been hectic as we worked through the articles seen in tonight’s newsletter as well as numerous articles that we are working on various topics. The two headline articles are, of course, the next round of flat rolled price increases. The Nucor $20 hot rolled and $30 cold rolled and […]
Last week Steel Market Update conducted our early January 2016 flat rolled steel market analysis. Our Premium level customers got access to the results of our queries in the form of a Power Point presentation which puts the results into a historical context. One of the unique line of questions asked were related to the […]
We are seeing small adjustments higher in hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized pricing based on what our index, along with that of Platts, reported this past week. Hot rolled averages range from a low of $380 per ton (SMU) to $390 per ton (Platts). Both indices were up, resulting in our CPI average for […]
Steel Market Update received the following press release from the US Department of Commerce International Trade Administration regarding the release of the preliminary determination for the hot rolled countervailing duty portion of the hot rolled trade case: On January 11, 2016, the Department of Commerce is scheduled to announce its preliminary determinations in the CVD […]
I will be in our home office all week this week (a rarity lately). Next week we will be in Starkville, Mississippi to conduct our Steel 101 workshop. Thank you again to Steel Dynamics Columbus for working with SMU and allowing our group to tour the Columbus facility. We remind everyone who has been thinking […]