For the week ending Feb. 23, domestic raw steel production totaled 1,907,000 net tons. The mills achieved an average capability utilization rate of 81.9 percent, up 1.1 percent from the prior week and 5.0 percent from the same period last year. The U.S. steel industry has produced 14,644,000 tons of steel so far in 2019, […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain Iron ore prices declined for the second consecutive week as the market awaits the announcement of stimulus measures in China. On Tuesday, Feb. 26, CRU has assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $84.70 /t, down $1.90 /t w/w. Steel demand has remained weak in China in the past seven […]
Industry sentiment remains well below levels of a year ago, as measured by Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index. While still at a healthy level and solidly within the optimistic range, sentiment is clearly being tempered by the many market uncertainties. Now that it appears steel prices have hit bottom and may be on […]
The secondary steel business is shrinking. Not only are quality-conscious mills producing fewer nonprime coils, there are fewer distributors in the business of buying them and fewer customers interested in using them. Steel Market Update interviewed several veterans of the secondary steel market, who all agreed the business is changing—and not always for the better. […]
By CRU Latin America Analyst Thais Terzian On Jan. 25, one of Vale’s tailing dams located in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, breached. The dam was part of Vale’s Córrego do Feijão mine and its breach tragically caused the death of several hundred people. On Jan. 29, Vale announced the suspension of production at nine mines in its […]
On Wednesday morning, Nucor announced a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) “minimum” price increase on flat rolled steel products. The mill advised their customers the increase was to be “effective immediately.” This is the second price increase announcement out of Nucor in less than 30 days. On Jan. 28, 2019, Nucor announced a $40 per ton […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel continue to inch out as market momentum shifts toward strengthening steel prices. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mills. The busier the mills, the less likely they are to […]
With steel prices in transition following last month’s price increase announcement from the major mills, the tone of negotiations between producers and buyers appears mixed. The majority of buyers report the mills are still willing to talk price on all products but plate, but fewer in the high-demand categories of hot rolled and galvanized. Most […]
Like the prime steel market, secondary steel is suffering from indecisiveness among buyers who feel uncertain about tariffs and trade and their effects on the economy. Secondary steel is nonprime or excess material that did not meet the specifications for its original intended use. Mills offer the material at a discount to service centers, who […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) raised the price of its hot rolled, P&O, cold rolled and galvanized sheet products by $40 per ton ($2/cwt) today. CSI has opened its flat rolled order book for April shipments. CSI’s change follows on a similar $40 increase it announced on Jan. 21, just one month ago. All pricing is […]
Barsteel Corp., a flat rolled steel distributor and processor, has acquired Millennium Metals LLC. Headquartered in Steger, Ill., Millennium Metals specializes in the processing and distribution of plate and bar products to a wide range of manufacturers across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Far East. Art Hoekstra, co-founder of the company, will continue as […]
ArcelorMittal announced minimum prices for its flat rolled products today in response to improved demand. “Over the past couple of weeks, we have experienced a significant increase in order entry for sheet products,” the mill said in a letter to customers. Effective immediately, the minimum price for new orders of hot rolled sheet from ArcelorMittal […]
The U.S. steel industry has produced 12,737,000 tons of steel so far in 2019, an 8.4 percent increase from the same period last year. Mill utilization has averaged 80.7 percent this year, up substantially from the 75.7 percent in 2018, reported the American Iron and Steel Institute. For the week ending Feb. 16, the average […]
Development officials in Texas report that the Corpus Christi region is on the shortlist of preferred locations for Steel Dynamics’ new $1.8 billion steel mill. SDI announced last November that it planned to construct a new EAF flat rolled steel mill in the southwestern U.S. The facility will have an annual production capacity of 3.0 […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg During the past week, iron ore prices fell somewhat as weak Chinese demand continued to weigh on the market. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $86.60 /t, down $3.70 /t w/w. Again, the Vale dam accident dominated the talks in the market. Although […]
By CRU Analyst Jordan Permain In the previous edition of CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, we outlined our expectation of falling prices as coke demand would weaken once restocking after the CNY holidays finished. This turned out to be true; coke demand has been low after mills completed their restocking and, as coke production remained […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Erik Hedborg and Andrew Gadd CRU’s research shows that the dam breach in Brazil, as well as the recent fire at Vale’s blending terminal in Malaysia, will have limited impact on the availability of high-grade fines. Iron ore prices of all different grades have increased since the dam breach, but the […]
Steel prices are trying to rise following the $40 per ton increase announced by the mills last month, but how fast, how far and for how long remains the subject of much speculation. Comments from SMU’s market canvas this week show buyers with two basic views: Either, “Mills are very firm on pricing. We’ve got […]
Editor’s note: The following is excerpted from the Feb. 13 CRU Steel Sheet Monitor; editing by CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores. In our Steel Sheet Products Monitor last month, we asked if the market was near an inflection point. That report was published on the sixth working day of the year and, at that point, global sheet […]
As President and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, Tom Gibson is the front man for an industry whose views are not always the most popular. Gibson will be a keynote speaker at Steel Market Update’s 2019 Steel Summit, scheduled for Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. This will be Gibson’s first speaking engagement at […]
As President and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, Tom Gibson is the front man for an industry whose views are not always the most popular. Gibson will be a keynote speaker at Steel Market Update’s 2019 Steel Summit, scheduled for Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. This will be Gibson’s first speaking engagement at […]
The following op-ed in support of steel tariffs, published last week by Alabama’s AL.com, was written by Thomas Gibson, president and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute. Gibson will be a keynote speaker at Steel Market Update’s 2019 Steel Summit, scheduled for Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. This will be Gibson’s first appearance at […]
Steel Market Update asked: Will the newly announced flat rolled price increase “stick” and be collected? Maybe not, said most respondents to SMU’s market trends questionnaire last week, but it will at least stop the slide. Looking at the data, very few expect the mills to collect the full $40 per ton increase they announced […]
The average capability utilization for U.S. steelmakers hit 81.5 percent in the week ending Feb. 9, the highest rate in about three months, with the mills producing 1,897,000 net tons of steel. Production increased 0.4 percent from the prior week and was up 4.4 percent from the same week the prior year, reported the American […]
By Erik Hedborg, CRU Senior Analyst The recent dam breach in Brazil will complicate iron ore pellet premia negotiations and is likely to lead to steel mills eventually accepting sharp premia increases. As a result of the dam breach, Vale has suspended 11 Mt/y of pellet production in the Southern System and the recently revoked operating […]
Manufacturers of foodservice equipment say the Trump administration tariffs on Chinese goods and imported steel and aluminum have raised the cost of materials by 6-15 percent and made it more difficult for American companies to compete. According to a January North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) survey, the tariffs are hurting companies whose […]
Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index has seen little change since the beginning of the year as the market seeks a sense of direction. While still well within the “optimistic” range, the index has been on a downward trajectory for months. SMU is consistantly seeing both our Current Sentiment Index as well as our […]
Canadian distributor Russel Metals reported strong financial results for the 2018 fourth quarter and for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, for all three of its operating segments. The company attributed its success to growth in value-added processing and its U.S. energy field stores, as well as an improvement in its average selling price. Russel, […]
Now in the second month of the new year, shortly after the mills announced a $40 price increase, price negotiations appear to be tightening up a very small bit. Buyers generally report that the mills are still willing to talk price on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and to a lesser degree Galvalume. On the […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel have extended slightly in the past few weeks, lending support to those who believe the market is near the bottom. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mills. The busier […]