Tag: cold rolled

We’ve all heard a lot about mill “discipline” following a wave of consolidation over the last few years. That discipline is often evident when prices are rising, less so when they are falling. I remember hearing earlier this year that mills weren’t going to let hot-rolled (HR) coil prices fall below $1,000 per short ton (st). Then not below $900/st. Now, some of you tell me that HR prices in the mid/high-$800s are the “1-800 price” – widely available to regular spot buyers. So what comes next, and will mills “hold the line” in the $800s?

US hot-rolled (HR) coil prices have fallen below $900 per short ton (st) on average for the first time since early November. SMU’s HR price stands at $875/st on average, down $65/st from a week ago and down $170/st from the beginning of the year.

Australia's BlueScope Steel has begun making plans to potentially add cold rolling and coating capabilities in the US.

What's the steel market talking about at present?

Mill lead times for flat-rolled steel were mostly stable over the past two weeks. With several mills slow to come out of outages and upgrades, cold rolled and coated lead times have been holding up better than hot rolled.

The percentage of sheet buyers finding mills willing to negotiate spot pricing rose or remained relatively flat on the products SMU surveys, while plate slumped, according to our most recent survey data.

The pace of sheet price declines accelerated this week as steel buyers said that domestic mills were competing against each other while also coping with higher-than-expected import volumes. “They are getting rid of the fluff. When you can pit 2-3 mills against each other, the fat margins get cut,” one industry source said.

2023 was the third-lowest year for steel imports in the last decade, according to an SMU analysis of data from the US Department of Commerce.

Domestic steel shipments increased in December on-year but were down from the previous month, according to the latest data released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Sheet prices fell across the board this week as SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price slipped below $1,000 per short ton (st) on average for the first time since November.

I thought Nippon Steel’s $14.1-billion deal for U.S. Steel might become a political football in this year’s presidential election. Now there is little doubt that it will after Trump told reporters in Washington, D.C., earlier this week that he would “absolutely” block the transaction – and that he would do so “instantaneously.”

Steel buyers said mills were much more willing to negotiate spot pricing this week on all products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.

Sheet prices were mixed this week, with hot-rolled (HR) coil unchanged but cold-rolled and coated prices down.

Domestic sheet prices slipped again this week, marking the first week of consecutive declines for hot-rolled (HR) coil since September. SMU’s HR price now stands at $1,000 per short ton (st) on average, down $25/st from last week and down $45/st from the start of the year.

Domestic buyers of steel sheet said mills were much more willing to negotiate spot pricing this week, according to our most recent survey data.

US steel exports were flat from October to November, but November took the prize for the fewest monthly exports year to date in 2023.

Bloomberg has reported that Nippon Steel’s $14.1-billion deal for U.S. Steel might not close until 2025 – well after the Q2/Q3 2024 close date both companies have guided toward. That’s because a national security review of the deal ($14.9 billion if you include the USS debt Nippon Steel would assume) by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) could take longer than initially expected

The spread between cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices jumped during the week of Jan. 8 as cold rolled tags continued to rise while hot rolled tags held steady.

Steel mill lead times pulled back across the board this week but are still said to be at healthy levels, according to SMU's market survey this week.

The percentage of steel buyers saying mills were willing to negotiate spot pricing on the products SMU surveys was mixed this week.

All of the products SMU surveys notched an increase in the percentage of buyers saying mills were willing to negotiate spot pricing, with the exception of cold rolled, according to our most recent survey data.

Domestic steel mill shipments dipped year-to-date (YTD) through October from a year earlier, according to revised American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) data.

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices were unchanged week over week (WoW) following a string of mostly upward moves dating back to late September.

‘Twas two weeks before Christmas, and at our publication We kept logging steel price increases from across our fair nation.

US steel exports declined for the second month in a row in October, falling to the lowest monthly total so far in 2023.

The percentage of steel buyers saying mills were willing to budge on spot pricing has risen for all sheet products SMU surveys, according to our most recent survey data.

Movements in lead times were mixed in SMU’s check of the market this week – a reflection of the seasonal dip in ordering that is typically seen during the winter holiday season.

AM/NS Calvert will continue providing hot rolling tolling services for Outokumpu for the time being.

The increase in steel imports from September to October was higher than license applications had suggested earlier this month.

Lead times for all steel sheet products but cold rolled were extended last week as prices trend upwards.