Flat rolled mills raised prices by another $40 per ton this week and the plate mills are expected to follow suit soon, possibly yet this week. “Lead times have jumped out to February-March-April. Scrap is up $20-30. The mills will certainly go for plate increase number four since November,” said one Steel Market Update source. […]
As widely expected, Nucor was the first to announce another $40 increase in flat rolled steel prices today. Other steelmakers are likely to follow suit. This represents the fifth round of price hikes by the major mills since late October totaling around $190 per ton. In a letter dated Jan. 8, Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group […]
Despite the holidays, domestic steelmakers managed to increase their mill utilization to 82.0 percent in the week ending Jan. 4. The last time weekly production was that high was in May 2019. Raw steel production totaled 1,898,000 net tons, up 1.2 percent from the previous week and up 2.0 percent compared with the same week […]
Demand for exhibition booths has increased steadily over the 10 years of Steel Market Update’s Steel Summit Conference. This year, SMU has doubled the exhibition space and made several improvements in the traffic flow of the hall. To better serve attendees during breaks and the networking receptions, we have increased the number of food and […]
John Packard is traveling…. As always, the holiday break put the brakes on buying, making it a challenge to gauge steel prices in the first week of 2020. But it appears the upward price momentum has continued into the New Year. Steel Market Update’s survey of the market over the past two days shows flat […]
Climate change is moving up the political agenda in countries around the world, putting increasing pressure on industries such as steel to reduce greenhouse gases. Globally, the steel industry is responsible for around 5 percent of total CO2 emissions. Steelmakers are responding with plans for mills that run on solar or wind energy and are […]
Domestic steelmakers finished 2019 strong and managed to keep the average mill capability utilization above the desired 80 percent rate for the year. Mill utilization increased to 81.1 percent in the week ending Dec. 28, the last full week of the year. Raw steel production totaled 1,876,000 net tons, up 0.5 percent from the previous […]
Sellers of secondary/nonprime steel are looking forward to a strong start to 2020, thanks to favorable market conditions and rising prices for prime steel products. As with many other products, there is a market for “seconds” in steel. Some distributors specialize, and others dabble, in finding new homes for coils that buyers have rejected for […]
Mill capability utilization inched back over the 80 percent mark in the week ending Dec. 21. Production totaled 1,866,000 net tons at 80.1 percent capacity, up 1.2 percent from the previous week and up 0.3 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Adjusted year-to-date production through Dec. 21 […]
Steel buyers sentiment has seen little change in the past several weeks as the market pauses to digest the latest price increases and looks ahead to the beginning of the new year. The goal of the index is to measure how buyers and sellers of steel feel about their company’s ability to be successful today […]
In four rounds of price increases since late October, flat rolled steel mills have raised prices by a total of $150 per ton. How much are they collecting? Some, but certainly not all, according to the service center and manufacturing executives who responded to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week. SMU data places the average […]
After a brief hesitation early in the month, mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel have continued to increase. The latest data shows slightly longer lead times for all flat rolled products except for Galvalume. Plate lead times have extended, as well. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand […]
Negotiations between steelmakers and steel buyers continue to tighten. Responses to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire this week indicate the mills are slightly less flexible on price for most products as they work to collect four increases announced since late October totaling $150 per ton. In the hot rolled segment, the majority of buyers […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from the CRU Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. were mixed this week. HR coil at $555 was steady w/w, falling by $2 /s.ton, while CR and HDG coil products gained $26-30 /s.ton w/w after steadying last week. For HR coil, overall volume has picked back […]
Chicago-based UPG Enterprises LLC has acquired Metalex LLC and its Morton Rail Products division, formerly known as Morton Manufacturing Co. Metalex is a manufacturer of perforated products, expanded metal, safety grating, perforated tubes and architectural metals. UPG said this acquisition significantly enhances its portfolio, not only with a suite of new products and capabilities, but […]
As widely expected, Nucor and U.S. Steel raised their flat rolled prices by $40 per ton on Monday, effective immediately on new spot orders, following on a comparable announcement by ArcelorMittal USA on Friday. NLMK USA is reported to be following suit, but has not issued a written announcement. USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) raised its base […]
Whether mills succeed in raising spot prices depends in large part on the support they receive from distributors. The latest Steel Market Update data from service centers, verified by data from their customers, indicates that steel prices have maintained their upward trajectory into the new year and show no signs of slowing. As indicated by […]
Mill capacity utilization increased by a percentage point in the week ending Dec. 14 to 79.7 percent. Production totaled 1,844,000 net tons, up 1.3 percent from the previous week but down 0.9 percent compared with the same week last year, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. Adjusted year-to-date production through Dec. 14 totaled 92,584,000 net […]
Affirming that steel imports from Vietnam have been circumventing U.S. antidumping and countervailing duties, the Department of Commerce on Monday upheld its preliminary AD/CVD rates on imports of galvanized and cold rolled sheet from Vietnam manufactured with hot- or cold-rolled substrate from Korea and Taiwan. Steel products produced in Korea and Taiwan, shipped to Vietnam […]
After declining for much of 2019, steel prices have moved up substantially in the last two months. Will the trend continue into 2020? Flat rolled steel producers raised prices three times during October and November for a total of $110 per ton. (Editor’s note: ArcelorMittal USA announced an additional $40 flat rolled increase on Friday. […]
Steel consumption in China is expected to ease back to 881 Mt next year, down from the record 886 Mt anticipated this year, according to forecasts by China’s Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute. Crude steel production is projected to mirror those figures by falling to 981 Mt in 2020 from a record 988 Mt […]
California Steel Industries informed customers Wednesday that, “due to changing market conditions,” it has increased transaction prices for its products by $70 per ton. The change applies immediately to new orders of hot rolled, P&O, cold rolled and galvanized products. “All pricing is subject to slab availability and mill capacity,” the company said in its […]
What’s ahead for the scrap market in 2020? Ben Abrams, president and CEO of Consolidated Scrap Resources, Inc., in York, Pa., offers the following prognostication: It’s always difficult to predict what will happen to ferrous scrap prices even a few months ahead of time, let alone for the full year, because the ferrous market is […]
What’s ahead for the scrap market in 2020? Ben Abrams, president and CEO of Consolidated Scrap Resources, Inc., in York, Pa., offers the following prognostication: It’s always difficult to predict what will happen to ferrous scrap prices even a few months ahead of time, let alone for the full year, because the ferrous market is […]
The Nucor Plate Mill Group informed customers today, Dec. 10, that it has increased transaction prices on all new orders for carbon, alloy and heat-treated plate by a minimum of $50 per ton, effective immediately. Nucor’s move follows a similar announcement by SSAB Americas on Friday. Sources tell SMU that ArcelorMittal has also followed suit, […]
Raw steel output by U.S. mills declined again in the week ending Dec. 7. Production totaled 1,821,000 net tons at a capability utilization rate of 78.7 percent, down 0.8 percent from the previous week and down 2.1 percent compared with the same week last year when utilization was at 79.4 percent, reported the American Iron and […]
Editor’s note: Steel is the largest producer of global industrial CO2 emissions. So, as stemming climate change takes on ever greater urgency, steelmakers are challenged to find production methods that emit fewer greenhouse gases. New technologies in development range from improving process efficiency to carbon capture to using hydrogen instead of coal as fuel. Following […]
Steel buyers sentiment, which had been trending up for the past several weeks right along with steel prices, showed the first signs of leveling off this week. Both the Current and Future Sentiment readings had only a 1 point change in the latest data. The goal of the index is to measure how buyers and […]
The mills have succeeded in collecting a portion of their recent price increases, but how much and for how long? Steel Market Update canvassed buyers this week and opinions varied widely. Flat rolled producers raised prices by a total of $110 per ton in three rounds of announcements during October and November. Steel Market Update […]
SSAB Americas notified customers on Friday, Dec. 6, that it is increasing transaction prices by a minimum of $50 per ton effective immediately for all new non-contract orders. Other mills are expected to follow. SSAB’s increase applies to As-Rolled Mill Plate, Cut-To-Length Plate >72”, Hot Rolled Coils >72”, as well as Normalized Plate and Quenched […]