By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market were led lower by declines in HR and CR coil. The price of HR coil is now back down to the low reached in early May, though market participants have noted that low priced offers have become scarce. […]
Hannibal Industries, the long-time California-based manufacturer of structural and mechanical tubing, has decided to exit the tubing products market to concentrate on its racking and material handling business. “Hannibal has made the decision to direct all of our tubular product manufacturing capacity, our capital and our human energy into our material handling products and services. […]
The difference between what it means to be “a” leader versus what it means to be “THE” leader could mean the difference between “dissolving” or “evolving” and being successful even in a market struggling with the COVID virus, says Ryan Avery, who will be a keynote speaker during Steel Market Update’s 2020 Virtual Steel Summit […]
Seventy percent of the steel buyers polled by SMU last week said they believe prices are near the bottom of the current market. SMU pegs the current benchmark price for hot rolled at around $440 per ton, slightly lower than the consensus view of $460 per ton because SMU learned of some low-$400’s deals late […]
Capacity utilization by the domestic mills has topped 60 percent once again as the economy and steel demand continue their slow, painful recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,354,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 8, with the mills hitting an average utilization rate of […]
Capacity utilization by domestic steelmakers rose for the 10th week in a row last week, but remained about 25 percent behind production in the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Raw steel production by U.S. mills totaled 1,377,000 net tons in the week ending Aug. 15, with the mills hitting […]
U.S. steel mills shipped 6,023,524 net tons in June, a 10.3 percent increase from the 5,461,851 net tons shipped in the previous month, but a 22.0 percent decrease from the 7,718,499 net tons shipped in June 2019, reports the American Iron and Steel Institute. Shipments year-to-date in 2020 total 41,218,207 net tons, a 14.5 percent […]
Alliance Steel looks forward to hosting an open house later this month to show off its impressive new service center in Gary, Ind. No doubt the coronavirus will have a presence at the event, where Alliance personnel will pass out masks and hand sanitizer along with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Indeed, COVID has been an […]
Our friends at ITR Economics warn us to be wary of economic misreporting, especially when the media is so full of dramatic headlines about the state of the pandemic. It’s easy for reporters to misinterpret the data, which is confusing to nearly everyone. ITR continues to predict U.S. GDP will move into a recovery mode […]
The service center and manufacturer executives who read Steel Market Update have been telling us for some time that they believe steel prices are near the bottom and poised to turn around soon. Our latest check of the market, with flat rolled steel prices up anywhere from $15 to $25 per ton, suggests the market […]
Industry sentiment has taken a pessimistic turn over the past four weeks as COVID-19 continues to outsmart government and health officials, who can’t seem to unite on a strategy that will stem the spread of the coronavirus. Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Indexes had been improving since hitting bottom in early April, but dipped […]
With Congress at an impasse over the next round of federal stimulus spending, roughly two out of three steel buyers polled by Steel Market Update believe it’s time to dial it back and not overreact. The other one-third feel the government should double down on spending to support an economy still struggling with the effects […]
Tim Gill, chief economist for the American Iron and Steel Institute, will be the featured speaker for the next SMU Community Chat. The webinar, which is free to anyone in the industry, will begin at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Gill will detail the impact of the coronavirus on the steel market and his forecast […]
Tim Gill, chief economist for the American Iron and Steel Institute, will be the featured speaker for the next SMU Community Chat. The webinar, which is free to anyone in the industry, will begin at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Gill will detail the impact of the coronavirus on the steel market and offer his […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel from the mills were at their shortest in the week of April 30 as orders dried up due to the coronavirus. Since then lead times have extended by about half a week, but saw only minor fluctuations in June and July. Currently, lead times for hot […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel are stretching out as demand improves and the mills get busier. Lead times for hot rolled and plate steels have extended past four weeks, while lead times for cold rolled and coated are now longer than six weeks. Lead times are an indicator of steel demand—longer […]
Steel buyers maintain their strong position in price negotiations with steel makers as demand slowly recovers from the coronavirus. The vast majority of those responding to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week report that the mills are willing to compromise on price to win orders. Nearly all the hot rolled buyers (91 percent) said the […]
Negotiations between buyers and the mills appear to be tightening as steelmakers attempt to firm up prices in response to improving demand. Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week shows significantly more mills holding the line in price talks on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel orders compared to earlier in August. About […]
Ferrous scrap prices for August were not as weak as expected, but varied widely by region. Prices on the East Coast and in the Southeast were up $30/GT due to strong export demand, while prices in other parts of the country traded sideways for obsolete grades and down $20-30 for primes, report Steel Market Update […]
Steel production by U.S. mills has been creeping steadily upward for the past eight weeks as the economy and steel demand slowly recover from the effects of the coronavirus. Production for the first seven months of the year remains nearly 20 percent below the same period in 2019, however. Adjusted year-to-date production through Aug. 1 totaled […]
Steel Dynamics, Inc. has completed its acquisition of Zimmer, a Mexican scrap recycler, as part of its raw material procurement strategy to support the new flat rolled mill it is building in Sinton, Texas. SDI plans to begin operations at the new EAF mill in mid-2021. Zimmer is headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, and operates a ferrous and […]
The coronavirus has claimed another casualty—the FABTECH trade show. Organizers of the annual event, which showcases the latest and greatest in metal fabricating technology, have cancelled the gathering, which they had hoped to hold in Las Vegas on Nov. 18-20, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. FABTECH is jointly sponsored by SME (formerly the Society […]
Steps to contain the coronavirus pandemic have taken a serious toll on industrial production, manufacturing and durable goods orders in the U.S., but the data shows signs of improvement in June. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. The Industrial Production Index The IP index is […]
Steel Market Update welcomes two well-known service center executives to the next SMU Community Chat webinar, set for 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Joining moderator Tim Triplett for a spirited Q&A will be Lisa Goldenberg, President of Delaware Steel Co. of Pennsylvania, and Mike Barnett, President of Grand Steel Products. Goldenberg and Barnett […]
Hot rolled steel prices have declined nearly every week since early June when the benchmark price was at $515 to the current average of $450 per ton–a 13 percent decline in just seven weeks. Two out of three respondents to SMU’s poll of the market a week ago said they believe flat rolled steel prices are […]
Two out of three steel buyers polled by Steel Market Update believe the coronavirus has permanently changed the way they do business. Sixty-five percent of the respondents to SMU’s questionnaire last week expect less travel and more working from home to become common practice, among other changes. Following are some of their comments: “There will […]
Steel imports into the United States declined by more than 20 percent in the first half of 2020, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute, based on preliminary Census Bureau data. Through the first six months of this year, total steel imports declined by 20.8 percent to 12.4 million tons, while finished steel imports declined […]
Learning to do more with less during the COVID crisis is bringing structural changes to ArcelorMittal, said Aditya Mittal, president and CFO of the world’s largest integrated steel and mining company, during today’s second-quarter report to analysts and investors. Without offering specifics about which assets will be affected in pursuit of cost savings, Mittal said […]
Construction employment decreased in 225 out of 358 metro areas, or 62 percent, between June 2019 and last month despite widespread increases from May to June, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. The AGC urged government officials to enact liability reform, boost infrastructure investments and extend […]
Ferrous scrap prices are likely to trade flat to down a further $20 per ton in August, following on a $20-40 drop in July, lending little support to the mills’ hopes to raise finished steel prices as the economy slowly recovers from the pandemic. CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley said stronger demand for scrap exports […]