US-EU talks on a global arrangement on carbon emissions are back in the news, and the latest is that Europe might have sunk a potential deal with the States, according to reporting from The Financial Times. If no deal is reached, Section 232 tariffs of 25% on steel from the EU could be reinstated. That […]
Our HRC price is flat this week, and there is a roughly 50/50 split between those who think the $50-per-ton sheet price hikes announced earlier this month will stick and those who think they won’t. I’m not going to weigh in on which side could be right. But it doesn’t appear to have fazed domestic mills, […]
A round of price increases announced by domestic mills in mid-June appears to have stabilized pricing for hot-rolled coil for the time being. Meanwhile, rumors of another round of price hikes ping-ponged around the market on Tuesday, with sources predicting another wave of hikes sometime between this week and mid-July. SMU’s average HRC prices stands […]
Our latest survey results indicate that the round of $50/ton ($2.50/cwt) sheet price hikes have a good chance of at least stabilizing prices or increasing them modestly. To be clear, SMU does not make formal forecasts. I’m basing this on what we’re seeing in past survey results following price hikes compared to what we’re seeing […]
US mills are now seeking as much as $950 per ton ($47.50 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil after the latest round of price hikes. The big question remains whether that figure will stick, “stop the bleeding,” or if it risks failing. It’s too early to provide any concrete answers to that. Our latest market survey found […]
The US will import approximately ~50,000 metric tons of steel slab from China in June, according to license data from the US Commerce Department. The figure is notable because the US has imported no significant quantities of Chinese slab in at least the last six years, per Commerce figures. The average price was $694 per metric […]
How can SMU’s sheet prices go down shortly after a round of $50-per-ton mill price hikes? Long story short: It’s because we’re capturing both pre- and post-increase pricing in our survey as well as in calls and emails with some of you. And, as those of you who’ve been in the industry for a while […]
ArcelorMittal has followed U.S. Steel and Nucor in an attempt to increase sheet prices by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The Luxembourg-based steelmaker also specified new minimum base prices: $950 per ton for hot-rolled coil (HRC) and $1,150 per ton for cold-rolled and coated products. ArcelorMittal made the price hike announcement with the opening […]
What to make of the latest round of sheet prices hikes: Are they aimed at stopping the bleeding, getting buyers off the sidelines, or actually getting sheet prices back up again? These are serious questions now in a way that they weren’t after U. S. Steel first announced its price hike last Wednesday. That hike […]
U.S. Steel and Wheeling-Nippon Steel have joined other domestic mills in reducing coating extras. Wheeling-Nippon said the new, lower extras would be effective with new orders quoted for the week ending July 22. The new extras apply to aluminized, galvanized, and galvanneal, the company said in a letter to customers dated Wednesday, June 14. One […]
U.S. Steel aims to increase base prices on spot orders of flat-rolled steel by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt.) The move is effective immediately and applies to “all open quotations and/or negotiations where an agreement is yet to be concluded,” the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said in a letter to it sales executives on […]
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices are down $55 per ton ($2.75 per cwt), the sharpest such decline we’ve seen all year. If this feels like an echo of June 2022, that’s because it is. Check out the chart below: A year ago, prices were falling hard as the shock of the war in Ukraine faded along […]
Sheet prices fell hard across the board this week as business ramped back up after Memorial Day. Recall that prices were steady last week largely because of a lack of activity following the holiday. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price now stands at $935 per ton ($46.75 per cwt), down $55 per ton a week ago and […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has published new, lower coating extras that are effective July 3. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker has reduced extras by an average of 10%, according to market participants and the new coating extras sheet. SDI’s current extras took effect on Aug. 1, 2022. Under that schedule, a 0.07-0.054 G90 coating was […]
I wanted a fresh perspective on the steel market this week, so I turned to a new voice – namely, ChatGPT. I won’t weigh in on whether the AI-driven chatbot is a useful tool, an extinction-level threat, or just another shiny object. That said, ChatGPT has been available publicly since Nov. 30, 2022. And it […]
Geoff Gilmore, future president and CEO of Worthington Steel, will be the featured speaker on the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, June 14, at 11 am ET. The live webinar is free to attend. A recording will be available to SMU members. You can register here. We’ll talk about current steel market dynamics, the […]
In a falling market, yesterday’s special deal is tomorrow’s prevailing price. A lot of you know that rule of thumb. What does it mean for the market now? Let’s sketch out a scenario. I wrote last week that someone buying tens of thousands of tons of hot-rolled coil (HRC) might be seeing prices in the […]
The US will extend for another year an exemption for Ukrainian steel from Section 232 tariffs. “The United States has provided a much-needed market for the steel that Ukraine is able to export,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in statement on Wednesday, May 31. “In doing so, Americans are directly supporting the people of Ukraine, […]
Sheet prices were broadly flat this week mostly because of a dearth of activity around Memorial Day. The consensus is prices will resume their downward trajectory, especially with nearly everyone we surveyed reporting that mills remain willing to negotiate lower spot prices. So where and when might prices bottom? For starters, very few people think […]
Sheet prices were flat or down only modestly this week, the first period of relative stability since mid-April. But several market participants said the flattish trend reflected limited activity around Memorial Day rather than stability in the broader market. Mills remain willing to negotiate spot prices and to match lower prices from their competitors, some […]
What’s up with galvanized coating extras? Galvanized lead times and prices have been falling since April, according to SMU data. SMU’s galvanized base price stands at $1,170 per ton ($58.50 per cwt), down nearly 12% from $1,325 per ton last month and down 31% from $1,700 per ton from a year ago. Lead times are at […]
Steel Market Update will be taking time off in observance of Memorial Day. We will not publish an issue on Sunday, May 28, and our offices will be closed on Monday, May 29. Our weekly pricing service will not be impacted. We will resume our regular publication schedule and our pricing service on Tuesday, May […]
Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) has sold approximately 19,000 tons of scrap to help pay for workers’ salaries, according to a local media report. The Mexican steelmaker is also raising money by selling coke from its coke plants, Mexico’s El Tiempo reported, citing comments from bankruptcy trustee Elmer Rocha. AHMSA and hedge fund Argentem Creek […]
Sheet prices came down harder than I expected this week. I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. For starters, mills are still making money at these levels, so there is not a lot of friction to lowering prices to get an order. Also, lead times are or will soon be overlapping with a period when we’re […]
SMU’s domestic hot-rolled coil price has fallen below $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt) for the first time since early March as a broad-based sheet price decline picks up speed. Our HRC price now stands at $990 per ton on average, down $50 per ton from $1,040 per ton last week and off $170 per […]
There is debate brewing about whether sheet prices will see a long, slow slide or whether they’ll fall off the proverbial cliff. Some of you have told me you’re still trying to pass along costs for steel bought following the last round of mill price hikes. That’s not been an easy thing to do, especially […]
Prices for steel sheet continue to move lower as market participants debate how far and how fast prices might fall before they reach bottom. Some are also questioning when and how quickly prices might rebound. But most don’t see that happening until the back half of the year. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price has in the […]
The drop in sheet prices we’ve seen at the mill level is now spreading downstream – an abrupt shift from just a few weeks ago, according to our latest survey data. More and more service centers are cutting prices. I had expected to see an increase in the number of service centers reporting that they […]
Flack Global Metals (FGM) founder and CEO Jeremy Flack will be the featured speaker on our next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, May 17, at 11 am ET. The webinar is free. You can register here. We’ll talk about the increased volatility that has characterized the steel market since 2020. Remember when hot-rolled coil used to […]
I wrote on Tuesday that we’ve been seeing hot-rolled coil prices fall approximately $20-25 per ton per week since last month. I’ve heard anecdotally from some of you that those declines are accelerating, and that they’ll only pick up speed as more mills open July books. Others say that HRC prices could prove stickier than […]