In the week ending May 16, steel production totaled 1,181,000 net tons with the mills operating at an average capability utilization rate of 52.7 percent. Production was down 1.9 percent from the prior week when output totaled 1,204,000 tons at a utilization rate of 53.7 percent, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Mill utilization […]
Wholesalers of HVAC products for the construction market report surprisingly strong sales given the coronavirus situation, but also concerns about construction demand in the second half when current work is completed and there are fewer new projects in the pipeline. In a conference call this morning, members of the Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors […]
Wholesalers of HVAC products have weathered the pandemic surprisingly well so far and are more concerned about construction demand months from now than they are about their near-term prospects. Consider what has happened since April as a result of the market’s response to the virus: Steel mills are operating at just above 50 percent of […]
Steel buyers’ attitudes have improved this month as coronavirus restrictions have eased in some areas and companies have begun to get back to business. Steel Market Update asked steel buyers how they view their company’s current prospects for success, as well as their chances for success three to six months in the future. The Current […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel extended slightly this week after declining since mid-March when the government ordered the closing of nonessential businesses to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the longer the lead time, the busier the mill. […]
Negotiations between producers and buyers of flat rolled steel have tightened somewhat following the price increase announcements by the mills earlier this month. Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week shows that mills are slightly less likely to negotiate on price than they were in April when competitors were scrambling to win orders […]
Like producers and distributors of prime steel, most sellers of nonprime or secondary steel have been hard hit by the virus. Yet secondary material is still available from the mills even though their production is way down. Some distributors are doing surprisingly well, depending on their customer base and location, while others are struggling. Secondary […]
John Anton is apologetic that his forecast for the steel market is so gloomy, “but realism outweighs the optimism,” he tells Steel Market Update. The Associate Director of Pricing and Purchasing at IHS Markit, Anton will be the guest speaker during the next SMU Community Chat webinar, beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May […]
John Anton is apologetic that his forecast for the steel market is so gloomy, “but realism outweighs the optimism,” he tells Steel Market Update. The Associate Director of Pricing and Purchasing at IHS Markit, Anton will be the guest speaker during the next SMU Community Chat webinar, beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May […]
Has steel production turned a corner? After a series of sharp declines since the coronavirus shutdowns in mid-March, the mill utilization rate actually saw a small uptick last week. In the week ending May 9, steel production totaled 1,204,000 net tons with the mills operating at an average capability utilization rate of 53.7 percent. Production […]
Canada’s Imperial Manufacturing Group has acquired Pointe-Claire/Green Valley Steel Group, Inc., a steel service center headquartered in Hamilton, Ontario, with facilities in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, and Bolton, Ontario. Imperial Manufacturing, based in Richibucto, New Brunswick, is a conglomerate of businesses centered around the HVAC and building products industries. “After working on this agreement for quite some […]
Bank of America is forecasting a slow recovery from the coronavirus crisis, one that will take years not just months, said Metals and Mining Analyst Timna Tanners, who was the featured guest speaker during Steel Market Update’s Community Chat on Wednesday. Bank of America economists anticipate a global recession in the second and third quarters. […]
Ferrous scrap prices for May have settled up $30/GT for shredded and up $40-50/GT for busheling as the coronavirus shutdowns have disrupted scrap generation and collection, resulting in extremely tight supplies. Higher scrap prices may lend support to the higher finished steel prices announced by the mills this week. The tight supply is a more […]
Raw steel production is starting to show the full effect from the pandemic shutdowns and the capacity curtailments by domestic steelmakers. In the week ending May 2, steel production totaled 1,144,000 net tons with the mills operating at an average capability utilization rate of 51.1 percent, down 8.5 percent from the previous week, and down […]
Russel Metals’ first-quarter results, while still profitable, reflect the downturn in the U.S. and Canadian economies and the weakness in the energy sector. Russel generated net income of $11 million on revenues of $815 million in the quarter, compared to income of $34 million on revenues of $1 billion in the 2019 first quarter and […]
Timna Tanners, metals and mining analyst for Bank of America, will be the guest speaker for the next SMU Community Chat, beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 6. Tanners raised eyebrows last year with her prediction that the mills’ many planned capacity additions would oversupply the market in the next few years and […]
Having lived through the difficult month of April, steel buyers remain pessimistic about current business conditions, but more hopeful about the future. Steel Market Update asked steel buyers how they view their company’s current prospects for success, as well as their chances for success three to six months in the future. The Current Sentiment reading […]
Demand for steel has suffered a serious blow from the coronavirus shutdowns. Not surprisingly, steel prices have been hurt as well, with hot rolled plunging by $80 per ton since mid-March. What is surprising is that the mills are hoping they can establish a floor for steel prices, even as the economy and demand yet […]
Timna Tanners, metals and mining analyst for Bank of America, will be the guest speaker for the next SMU Community Chat, beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 6. Tanners raised eyebrows last year with her prediction that the mills’ many planned capacity additions would oversupply the market in the next few years and […]
Timna Tanners, metals and mining analyst for Bank of America, will be the guest speaker for the next SMU Community Chat, beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 6. Tanners raised eyebrows last year with her prediction that the mills’ many planned capacity additions would oversupply the market in the next few years and […]
Timna Tanners, metals and mining analyst for Bank of America, will be the guest speaker for the next SMU Community Chat, beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 6. Tanners raised eyebrows last year with her prediction that the mills’ many planned capacity additions would oversupply the market in the next few years and […]
Steel Market Update sources report that ArcelorMittal USA has informed them of new, higher base prices for flat rolled steel products. Effective immediately, the base for future orders of hot rolled is $500 per ton ($25/cwt) and cold rolled and coated products have a base of $700 per ton ($35/cwt). These prices are applicable to […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled and plate steels declined sharply in April. Lead times ranged from a half-week to a full week shorter at the end of the month than they did at the beginning, depending on the product, according to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire. Lead times for steel […]
On Monday of this week, Steel Market Update began canvassing the markets as we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends suveys. The vast majority of the responses were received early in the week and the results of those responses are presented below. However, SMU continued to speak directly to both […]
Steel Market Update sources and other trade press and are reporting that Cleveland-Cliffs is planning to immediately idle the hot strip mill at AK Steel’s Dearborn Works in Michigan for an indefinite period, possibly permanently, in response to the coronavirus crisis and other market pressures. Cleveland-Cliffs, parent of AK Steel, declined to comment, saying the […]
Nucor has resumed production at its Louisiana direct-reduced-iron plant, but its DRI facility in Trinidad remains closed. As company executives reported during their conference call on Tuesday, the Louisiana facility was brought safely back online after a brief pause earlier this month. “Our DRI plants give us a great deal of flexibility and are a […]
It was one of those days. Publishing a newsletter is like giving birth three times a week anyway, but the labor pains for the SMU staff were particularly acute today. John Packard was ostensibly taking the day off, but that did not stop him from writing a big story and sending untold emails. Keeping abreast […]
Steps to contain the spread of COVID-19 have dealt a serious blow to construction, which is the largest market for steel. Construction will be the focus of this week’s SMU Community Chat. Two out of three construction executives responding to an April 20-23 survey by the Associated General Contractors of America reported that they are […]
“The scrap market is almost certainly going to go sideways if not higher in May due to the extreme supply squeeze we have seen this month,” said CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley. Ferrous scrap prices weakened for much of the first quarter, punctuated by a $30-50 per ton decrease in April. But May scrap prices […]
After a brief pause, raw steel production continued to slide last week. Production in the April 25 week totaled 1,250,000 net tons with the mills operating at an average capability utilization rate of 55.8 percent, down 2.1 percent from the previous week, and down 33.9 percent from the same week last year, reported the American […]