Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices fell for a second consecutive week as mills appear to have given up holding the line on $900 per ton ($45 per cwt) and amid discounting into the high $700s per ton. SMU’s average HRC price now stands at $830 per ton, down $40 per ton from a week ago and marking […]
Movements in lead times were mixed this week, with those for hot rolled and Galvalume falling back marginally, and those for cold rolled, galvanized, and plate extending slightly. We’re still waiting for a clear pattern to emerge with lead times, as they seem to have been bouncing around since June and generally trending down since […]
Steel buyers report that mills are willing to negotiate lower spot prices for the sheet products SMU surveys.
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Movements in lead times were mixed this week, with those for hot rolled and Galvalume falling back marginally, and those for cold rolled, galvanized, and plate extending slightly.
The hot end of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI) Sinton, Texas, sheet mill is expected to be back up and running in the next few days.
The hot end of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s (SDI) Sinton, Texas, sheet mill is expected to be back up and running in the next few days. Executives made the announcement on the company’s second quarter earnings conference call with analysts on Thursday, July 20. On July 7, SDI announced an unplanned outage at the hot mill, […]
Steel buyers report that mills are willing to negotiate lower spot prices for the sheet products SMU surveys. It’s a different story in plate, where buyers find mills less willing to negotiate lower, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to talk price on plate stood at 29% this […]
Sheet prices slipped by $20-25 per ton as hot-rolled coil (HRC) failed to break through the $900 per ton threshold some market participants had predicted it would. SMU’s average hot-rolled coil (HRC) price stands at $870 per ton ($43.50 per cwt), down $20 per ton from a week ago. Numbers at or around that figure […]
Sheet prices slipped by $20-25 per ton as hot-rolled coil (HRC) failed to break through the $900 per ton threshold some market participants had predicted it would.
Sheet prices inched up this week on less discounting from major mills and on expectations that activity could improve in the coming weeks as OEMs return to the market following widespread summer shutdowns in early July. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price stands at $890 per ton ($44.50 per cwt), up $10 per ton from last week […]
US steel exports spiked in May to the highest monthly level in nearly five years. Exports reached 914,018 net tons in May (Fig. 1), according to the latest figures from the US Department of Commerce. That’s 19% higher month-on-month and 15% higher year-on-year. Recall that exports in March neared a five-year high; May’s total was […]
Lead times were broadly stable this week, with sheet products rising modestly and plate unchanged from SMU’s market check two weeks ago. More meaningful movements in lead times should be seen in the coming weeks as buyers return to the market after the Fourth of July holiday. Should the mills’ recent sheet price hikes take […]
The overall mill negotiation rate dropped this week following the July 4th holiday, though plate bucked the trend, increasing by four percentage points, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to talk price on plate stood at 63% this week, up from 59% two weeks ago, while […]
Sheet prices were little changed this week amid typically slower activity around the Fourth of July. Market participants said that another round of sheet price hikes might come later this week or early next to shore up an initial round of price increases announced in mid-June. In the meantime, some of the heavy discounting that […]
A round of price increases announced by domestic mills in mid-June appears to have stabilized pricing for hot-rolled coil for the time being. Meanwhile, rumors of another round of price hikes ping-ponged around the market on Tuesday, with sources predicting another wave of hikes sometime between this week and mid-July. SMU’s average HRC prices stands […]
Companies should keep a watchful eye on pricing and lead times, according to members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) speaking on the June 27 meeting of its Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council. During May’s meeting, most HARDI participants thought that prices would continue to drop. Over half of the individuals thought it […]
The overall mill negotiation rate was steady this week, though plate was an outlier, jumping 16 percentage points, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to negotiate price on plate rose to 59% this week, up from 33% two weeks ago. Every two weeks, SMU asks […]
In SMU’s market check this week, lead times for sheet and plate pulled back to some of the shortest times seen in several months. To see lead times this short, we have to go back to March for plate, January for galvanized sheet, and December for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Galvalume sheet. With mills pushing for […]
We are counting down the days until SMU’s Steel Summit Conference on Monday-Wednesday, Aug. 21-23, in Atlanta. It’s only a little over two months away. Approximately 755 people have already registered. Our discounted room blocks are almost gone. Register here. The event will again be held at the Georgia International Convention Center, a massive conference center in close […]
Sometimes the skills we obtain through our education can be used in ways other than we expect. Roger Walburn is a metallurgist who uses his specialty to help customers find the perfect fit. His knowledge of metallurgy enables him to get into the weeds with the technical aspects of steel, which educates his customers on […]
Sheet prices fell at a more modest pace this week after a sharp decline last week, as business seemed somewhat curbed. After Memorial Day prices fell, leading to the sharpest price drop since June 21, 2022. Now, the slide seems to have temporarily cooled, though sources indicated it was almost exclusively due to a lack of activity. SMU’s hot-rolled […]
Steel Market Update’s latest survey shows movements in lead times were varied across products this week, with hot rolled falling below the 5-week mark for the first time since early February. The average lead times for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet all fell back slightly from our market check two weeks ago, while those for […]
The percentage of respondents saying steel mills were willing to negotiate on price stayed relatively flat this week, up one percentage point from two weeks ago, according to SMU’s most recent survey data. Plate bucked the general trend, being the only product surveyed by SMU to fall below 50% of respondents saying steel mills were […]
Sheet prices fell hard across the board this week as business ramped back up after Memorial Day. Recall that prices were steady last week largely because of a lack of activity following the holiday. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price now stands at $935 per ton ($46.75 per cwt), down $55 per ton a week ago and […]
Sheet prices were flat or down only modestly this week, the first period of relative stability since mid-April. But several market participants said the flattish trend reflected limited activity around Memorial Day rather than stability in the broader market. Mills remain willing to negotiate spot prices and to match lower prices from their competitors, some […]
Steel buyers across all products surveyed by SMU this week are finding mills more willing to negotiate lower spot pricing vs. two weeks ago. Galvanized saw the percentage of buyers saying mills were willing to talk price climb to 100% this week, up from 90% at the previous market check, while cold rolled rose 28 percentage […]
Steel mill lead times have encountered some of the biggest two-week declines we’ve seen for some time, to the lowest levels we’ve seen since mid-March, according to SMU’s latest steel market survey data. Hot rolled in particular saw the steepest two-week decline since late January 2022, when lead times dropped by 0.86 weeks. This week, […]
SMU’s domestic hot-rolled coil price has fallen below $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt) for the first time since early March as a broad-based sheet price decline picks up speed. Our HRC price now stands at $990 per ton on average, down $50 per ton from $1,040 per ton last week and off $170 per […]
Prices for steel sheet continue to move lower as market participants debate how far and how fast prices might fall before they reach bottom. Some are also questioning when and how quickly prices might rebound. But most don’t see that happening until the back half of the year. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price has in the […]