Ingram Marine Group, the largest US barge operator, on Oct. 6 declared force majeure in a letter to customers. The company said low water levels had made it impossible to make timely deliveries. Vessels have run aground near Memphis, Tenn., and there is a logjam of more than 122 vessels/barges near Stack Island, Miss., impeding […]
By CRU Research Analyst Yusu Mao, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Turkish scrap prices rebounded on a fresh deal last week, for the first time since the beginning of September. Our assessment for HMS 1/2 80:20 rose to $365 per ton CFR, up by $21 per ton week-on-week (WoW) but down by $31 per ton […]
Sheet pricing continues to grind lower and contract negotiations drag on. Let’s first look at why prices have been slipping and think about a few theories as to who or what the culprit might be. Spot Market Dynamics I’ve heard from buyers in the Midwest that discounts for large-volume orders negotiated by an integrated producer […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) at a bargain has all but faded again, with adjusted foreign prices now offering little or no advantage over domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for two of the three regions […]
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has launched a discussion paper on whether to delist Russian primary aluminum from its contract. A discussion paper is like what we do in the US when we ask for public comment on an issue. This decision to ask for market commentary is a 180-degree change of direction from what […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook September has reminded us how risky the current global environment is. Stubbornly high inflation, rapidly tightening monetary policy, tight energy markets, and a surging dollar are taking their toll on growth. And the more bad news keeps materializing. In eastern Europe, Russia’s partial mobilization […]
Our most recent lead time data is flashing a clear warning signal when it comes to plate prices, and so too are plate prices abroad – which in theory offer massive discounts to domestic numbers. Let’s start with plate lead times, which we released today along with lead time figures for sheet products. Plate lead […]
The appeal to import foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) in place of purchasing domestic steel remains low to non-existent, but that may be changing, according to our latest foreign versus domestic price analysis. Foreign prices were flat to down as much as $40 per net ton this week, while domestic prices increased $5 per ton. Foreign […]
By CRU Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 2.2% month-on-month (MoM) to 312.3, following four continuous months of decline since May 2022. This MoM rise in the CRUmpi was specifically driven by a sharp rebound in Asian scrap prices while European prices stabilized. […]
Aluminum May Be Approaching the End of Its Long Destocking Cycle Last week, I described our premise about demand versus real consumption. We talked about the market’s natural tendency to destock when prices take a beating as they have during most of 2022. The latest Index of Orders from the Aluminum Association offers some early […]
Foreign steel imports from two of the three regions tracked by Steel Market Update no longer have a price advantage over domestic steel. US HRC prices are potentially 5% cheaper than imported steel from the two regions, according to our latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled steel price analysis. Foreign HRC prices for just one region […]
By CRU Senior China Economist Henry Hao, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook and China Macro Monthly China’s economy showed resilience in August, with growth in industrial production, investment, and retail sales shoring up the recovery from the effects of Covid lockdowns and heatwaves. The worsening property slump, however, continues to drag on the economy and threaten the […]
Long liquidation as opposed to short selling? I spoke this week at two diverse industry groups: the Aluminum Extruders Council (AEC) and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). While differing in their sector concentration, the audiences had the same questions: • What’s going on with the London Metal Exchange (LME) aluminum price? • Why […]
By CRU Research Analyst Rosy Finlayson, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor European scrap prices remained relatively unchanged month-on-month (MoM) in September. Buying activity has been slow after the summer holidays despite this being the normal restocking period. Finished steel mills are reportedly sufficiently stocked at present. Scrap prices in Europe now range between €300 […]
Foreign steel imports from two of the three regions tracked by Steel Market Update have lost their price advantage over domestic steel, according to our latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled steel price analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for just one region remain cheaper than domestic steel […]
Natural gas inspired staggering energy prices crush primary aluminum economics The suspension of gas deliveries through the Nord Stream pipeline has further aggravated an already grim energy situation for European aluminum producers. Prices for day-ahead power in Western Europe are stunning in their magnitude: 404 euros/megawatt hour were published on Friday for Germany, France, the […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook The rise in inflation has been a major headwind for the global economy. It has squeezed household incomes and led to a tightening of monetary policy across dozens of countries. Although the price environment in Europe remains red hot, there are tentative signs that […]
Editor’s note: SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors. Rock provides customers attached to the steel industry with commodity price risk management services and market intelligence. RTA is registered with the National Futures Association as a Commodity Trade Advisor. David has over 20 years of professional trading experience and has been active […]
Foreign hot-rolled coil imports have very little (if any) price advantage over domestic steel prices at this time, according to SMU’s latest analysis. In fact, German HRC prices are more expensive than domestic steel after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration. Prices in Italy and in Asia hold only a 1–3% potential […]
The global steel decarbonization challenge is immense but uneven, argued Philip Bell, Steel Manufacturers Association’s (SMA) president, during a 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference panel addressing the challenges and opportunities a new carbon frontier poses on the domestic steel industry. “One of the most important things to emphasize from a US steelmaker perspective is that […]
I want to end by sharing a story of a ‘C’ high school student. The son of a factory worker and his Welcome Wagon hostess mom. Their home was modest at best. From the time he could remember, his parents encouraged him and his brothers to be the first in their family to go to […]
I want to end by sharing a story of a ‘C’ high school student. The son of a factory worker and his Welcome Wagon hostess mom. Their home was modest at best. From the time he could remember, his parents encouraged him and his brothers to be the first in their family to go to […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) at a discount over domestic steel remains minimal. Adjusted foreign prices now offer little advantage over domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s (SMU) latest analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins, and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for the three regions covered in this analysis […]
I thought it was important that I provide my take on the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. It was an enlightening and emotional experience for me. The 1,291 attendees who managed to make their way to Atlanta last week got to enjoy the best steel conference SMU and our CRU parent company have ever put […]
The steel and commodity price forecast panel – always a popular program at SMU’s Steel Summit – once again didn’t disappoint. Speakers included three of the steel industry’s most respected analysts: Josh Spoores, CRU’s principal steel analyst, Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research’s managing director, and John Anton, S&P Global Market Intelligence’s director. The sheet market today […]
There have been a couple of attempts to move steel prices higher over the past couple of weeks. At the same time, there have been some very large orders taken well below current levels as published by SMU and our CRU parent. The question is are they repeatable? During a conversation on the sidelines of […]
Economic conditions are still iffy at best. Housing data continues to suffer with new home sales plunging and inventory reaching the highest it has been since 2009. The Richmond and Kansas City Fed manufacturing indexes both plunged in July as well. The Richmond Fed’s manufacturing skill availability index, which indicates the demand for skilled labor […]
We hosted the greatest conference we have ever held over the past few days. This year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference smashed attendance records with 1,291 registered attendees. This does not include the dozens who networked in the lobbies of the four hotels surrounding the Georgia International Convention Center. It was a wonderful and emotional experience […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot-rolled coil (HRC) at a bargain has all but faded, with adjusted foreign prices now offering little or no advantage over domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign HRC prices for two of the three regions covered […]
The final program of last week’s Steel Summit Conference was a panel of three experts discussing the evolving automotive market and its shift towards electric vehicles (EV). Panelists discussed how the automotive industry is transitioning to electric-vehicle offerings, covering an array of topics such as steel and aluminum needs for EVs, investments by automakers, light-weighting […]