By CRU Analyst Alexander Ordosch On Friday, Aug. 2, the U.S. government announced 10 percent tariffs on an additional $300 billion in Chinese imports that are not already covered by Section 301 (S301) tariffs. About 50 percent of the new tariffs cover steel-bearing machinery, while the rest are non-steel-containing items such as food, clothing, base metals […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices continued to decline in the past week as international steel prices continued to fall on a weak demand outlook for steel in the coming month. On Tuesday, Aug. 13, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $90.30 /t, down $7.70 /t w/w. Steel prices in […]
JSW Steel (USA), Inc., is seeking relief from the Section 232 tariffs on the steel slabs it must import temporarily to supply its mill in Baytown, Texas. The U.S. arm of the India-based steel producer has filed a complaint against the U.S. alleging that the Commerce Department’s denial of JSW’s request for exclusion from the […]
Rising prime steel prices are bringing some welcome relief to sellers of secondary as well, but higher prices do not necessarily translate into higher margins. Sources tell Steel Market Update that conditions in the nonprime market have improved, but remain challenging. Nonprime or secondary steel includes coils that are rejected because they fail to meet […]
By CRU Principal Economist Lisa Morrison Total IP contracted q/q in both Q1 and Q2, but the June report pointed to potential stabilization in manufacturing. YTD through June, total IP is up 2.2 percent y/y, but it is averaging just 1 percent higher than in 2018. Since we expect little expansion during H2, we now […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores Sheet prices in the U.S. have continued to rise as both buyers and sellers have reported higher transactions. Overall volume reported has been steady over the past few weeks and near 2019 average levels. The overall price range remains wide, around $50 /s.ton. We anticipate that prices will continue […]
Olympic Steel executives expressed positive sentiments about the company’s performance during an “unusual” second quarter despite declines in both sales and income compared with the same period last year. The Cleveland-based service center reported quarterly net sales of $429 million, 5 percent lower than in second-quarter 2018. Net income for the quarter totaled $2.1 million, […]
Zekelman Industries plans to build what it claims will be the world’s largest continuous ERW tube mill in Blytheville, Ark., on property adjacent to its existing Atlas Tube mill. Startup of the new mill is scheduled for September 2021. “Having two mills within close proximity of each other will only increase our organization’s efficiency. We […]
Following Nucor’s lead on Friday, ArcelorMittal USA, EVRAZ and SSAB Americas informed customers this week that they are raising the spot price of their plate products by a minimum of $40 per ton ($2/cwt), effective immediately. ArcelorMittal and EVRAZ informed customers verbally, SMU was told, while SSAB distributed a letter stating that the $40 per […]
Steel mill capacity utilization inched up for the third week in a row to nearly 81 percent last week as the domestic mills seek to capitalize on higher prices in the marketplace. Raw steel production for the week ending July 27 totaled 1,884,000 net tons, an increase of 0.6 percent from the previous week, as […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg Iron ore prices were steady in the past week as mills in China continue to demand spot cargoes while inventories at ports and mills remain low. Seaborne supply has, although somewhat improved, remained relatively weak as we conclude the month of July, a month that typically has lower Australian […]
Editor’s note: In the following commentary, economist Alan Beaulieu reports on the coming slowdown in the U.S. economy. Beaulieu, the president of ITR Economics, will be a featured speaker at the Steel Market Update Steel Summit Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. Click here for more information and to register. The U.S. economy, as measured by Industrial […]
Rising steel prices may be giving a lift to industry attitudes. Steel Market Update’s latest Steel Buyers Sentiment Index shows an eight point increase in Current Sentiment and an 11 point increase in Future Sentiment. While a single week’s results can’t reliably predict a new trend, the uptick is a notable change from sentiment data […]
Nucor’s Plate Group notified customers on Friday that it is raising the price of carbon and alloy plate and heat-treated plate by a minimum of $40 per ton ($2/cwt), effective immediately on all new spot orders. “In recent weeks, plate pricing has fallen to unsustainable levels. While end-use demand and project business remains stable, the […]
Nucor’s Plate Group notified customers on Friday that it is raising the price of carbon and alloy plate and heat-treated plate by a minimum of $40 per ton ($2/cwt), effective immediately on all new spot orders. “In recent weeks, plate pricing has fallen to unsustainable levels. While end-use demand and project business remains stable, the […]
By CRU Analyst Chris Bandmann CRU is launching weekly Turkish HR coil export prices, enhancing the existing suite of weekly Turkish long product and scrap prices. This Insight being offered for these other markets has now been brought to flats – and offers a window into the world of Turkish hot rolled coil exports. Turkey […]
Trade actions have imposed new and increased burdens on both U.S. Customs and Border Protection and on importers, reported the American Institute of International Steel in a July 8 blog by AIIS Customs Committee Chairman and attorney Steven W. Baker. “Importers have recently been faced with many seldom used or new and unprecedented trade remedy […]
Steel Market Update data indicates that the mills have been able to collect some, but not all, of their recent price increases. Their apparent willingness to continue negotiating on spot orders, as reported by steel buyers to SMU, casts doubt on the resolve they will need to collect the rest. Certainly, steel prices are much […]
Lead times for steel delivery have continued moving out over the past two weeks as the three price increases announced by the mills have drawn more buyers off the sidelines. The average lead time for hot rolled has moved up to more than four weeks, cold rolled to about six weeks, and coated steels to […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores U.S. sheet prices continue to be supported by new mill price announcements as HR coil gained $5 /s.ton, rising to $553 /s.ton. This price assessment reflects transactions taking place last week. On Monday of this week, ArcelorMittal led the third round of increases since late June, signaling $630 /s.ton […]
Following the lead of most of the other flat rolled mills, NLMK USA informed customers Tuesday that it is raising spot prices on all products by a minimum of $40 per ton. Nucor, U.S. Steel and USS-POSCO Industries also announced $40 increases this week. ArcelorMittal USA released higher minimum base prices of $630 per ton […]
Following the lead of most of the other flat rolled mills, NLMK USA informed customers yesterday that it is raising spot prices on all products by a minimum of $40 per ton. Nucor, U.S. Steel and USS-POSCO Industries also announced $40 increases this week. ArcelorMittal USA released higher minimum base prices of $630 per ton […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain Ironmakers are continuously seeking ways to increase production efficiency and reduce costs but, particularly when profitability is good, productivity is a focus area. To achieve this, ironmakers can increase their usage of metallics in the blast furnace (BF), and benefits include not only increased productivity but also a lower coke […]
Domestic steelmakers are keeping their capacity utilization above the 80 percent mark as they seek higher prices in the marketplace. The U.S. mill utilization rate averaged 80.4 percent in the week ending July 20, an increase of 0.3 percent from the previous week. Raw steel production for the week totaled 1,872,000 net tons. Production was […]
Brian Harroun, founder and president of Nobilis Pipe Co., sees an opportunity for a new domestic steel mill to bring production of specialty pipe and tube products back to the United States—and to do it in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way. Nobilis Pipe is now working to secure financing for construction of one of […]
Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group informed customers today that it is increasing base prices on new orders of flat rolled steel by an additional $40 per ton ($2/cwt), effective immediately. The announcement marks the third $40 increase by the market-leading steelmaker in the past month. The $40 price hike applies to all unconfirmed orders of hot […]
Domestic steelmakers showed solidarity this week in their pursuit of higher flat rolled steel prices with most major mills announcing their third $40 increase in just the past month. U.S. Steel and USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) were the latest to notify customers of their price change on Tuesday, following on announcements Monday by Nucor and ArcelorMittal […]
ArcelorMittal USA is the latest mill to increase flat rolled steel prices, announcing new minimum base prices in a letter to customers on Monday. Effective immediately, the company set its minimum price for hot rolled sheet at $630 per short ton, and cold rolled and coated products at $800 per short ton. If the mill […]
By Fouad Egbaria, MetalMiner Editor’s note: The following article, Chatting with CRU’s Josh Spoores Ahead of the 2019 SMU Steel Summit, originally appeared in MetalMiner’s July 18 edition. Those in the steel sector will have a chance to learn about all of the trends impacting the steel industry during the upcoming SMU Steel Summit, scheduled […]
By CRU Research Manager Chris Houlden and CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores FOB US Midwest HRC pricing: new research reveals market preferences Physical market preferences for attributes of FOB US Midwest mill HR coil (HRC) prices have recently been established by independent market research. Key findings are that weekly FOB US Midwest mill prices are […]