North American auto assemblies shrank by 15.8% in April, falling for the first time in 2022 as ongoing supply hurdles mount. Despite the recent decline, North American production has improved since bottoming out last December. April’s results are just 4.6% higher year-on-year (YoY), and still 14.4% below the pre-pandemic period of April 2019. North American […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group The LME cash price for high grade aluminum continues to give ground, with prices at $2,715 per metric ton versus $2,861 per ton last week. There is still a lot of gloom and doom out there. Fear factor over demand is dominating price discovery Here are a few of […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, May 11 The CRUspi plunged month-on-month (MoM) in May by over 8.6%, which is the largest percentage point decline since late 2008 and the second-largest ever in terms of total fallen points. Supply chain readjustments for both sheet and steelmaking raw materials in the […]
Foreign steel imports continue to hold a competitive price advantage over domestic steel, albeit at a slightly lesser potential discount this week compared to last. According to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison, select foreign HRC prices range from $92-345 per ton ($4.6-$17.25 per cwt) cheaper than domestic prices, after taking […]
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 […]
We will soon pass through 500 registered executives on our way to 1,200 executives at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. The conference will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center located next to the Atlanta International Airport. The dates for this year’s conference are Mon.-Weds., Aug. 22-24. You can learn more about our […]
We will soon pass through 500 registered executives on our way to 1,200 executives at this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference. The conference will be held at the Georgia International Convention Center located next to the Atlanta International Airport. The dates for this year’s conference are Mon.-Weds., Aug. 22-24. You can learn more about our […]
Swedish steelmaking start-up H2 Green Steel (H2GS) has pre-sold more than 1.5 million tons of hydrogen-based steel in offtake supply agreements, the company confirmed. The agreed volumes are for 2025 production onwards and cover more than 60% of the company’s initially estimated annual production of 2.5 million tons. The multi-year supply contracts range between five […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group US equities market this past week were a microcosm of how fast sentiment can change. It reminded me of a favorite statement I use to explain commodity trading to people outside our world: “Markets move on fear and greed.” Welcome to the fear cycle. This cycle has plenty of […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook Each of the three largest economies now face a serious risk that could push them into recession: For Europe, the greatest risk is the fall-out from the Ukraine war, particularly the potential impact on energy markets. In China, a resurgence in Covid-19 which has […]
Foreign steel imports continue to hold a competitive price advantage over domestic steel, with the spread between the two widening nearly every week since mid-March. According to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison, select foreign HRC prices range from $114-375 per ton cheaper than domestic prices, after taking freight costs, trader margins […]
Sheet and plate prices were flat or down modestly again this week. And it has become clearer and clearer that the market has gotten over the initial shock of the war in Ukraine. Mill after mill lined up during earnings calls last month to say that they were no longer sourcing pig iron from Russia […]
SMU is looking for the Next NexGen Leadership Award Winner. The NexGen Leadership Award process is now open and accepting nominations. What is the NexGen Leadership Award? The SMU NexGen Leadership Award, sponsored by the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA), is awarded to an individual working in manufacturing or fabrication companies that utilize mild carbon or automotive […]
By CRU Analysts Chris Bandman and Christopher Dix, from CRU’s Steel Monitor, April 29 Over two months ago, the Russian invasion of Ukraine quickly resulted in the suspension of effectively all Ukrainian steelmaking operations. Since late March, several steelmakers have begun to return to production. Currently, the following operations have partially returned to production: ArcelorMittal […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the aluminum market has fixated on potential sanctions on Russia’s 3+ million metric tons of annual exports. So far, those sanction have not materialized. Several major players have announced their intention to suspend new business with Russia. Emphasis on “new business.” […]
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 import prices are gaining a greater competitive advantage over domestic steel this week, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices range from $60-351 per ton cheaper than domestic prices, after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration. Recall that the price differentials between […]
First, I want to commend Michael Cowden for the outstanding Final Thoughts he has been creating for our readers. I also want to thank the SMU team for doing an excellent job over the past few weeks since Tim Triplett retired. We have new people coming soon, but in the meantime Brett Linton and David […]
Matthew Abrams, Analyst, CRU Group As costs, premiums, and prices all remain high, market participants across all sectors are all looking for the edge of the cliff. The war, Covid 19, and inflation are all part of the daily conversation. Supply disruptions and demand destruction are very real worries for all those involved. In what could […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Alexandra Anderson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor, April 21 Request more information about this topic. Learn more about CRU’s services at www.crugroup.com
Today we are sharing the full proposed agenda for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. As you will note there are a few programs where we are in negotiations with speakers or working on making sure the program is fresh for those who have attended our conference in the past. There are several themes we […]
The competitive advantage import prices hold over domestic steel has increased this week, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices range from $47-335 per ton cheaper than domestic prices, after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration. Recall that the price differentials between domestic […]
Today we are sharing the full proposed agenda for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. As you will note there are a few programs where we are in negotiations with speakers or working on making sure the program is fresh for those who have attended our conference in the past. There are several themes we […]
North American auto assemblies grew by 18.1% in March, expanding for the third straight month despite ongoing supply hurdles. Though North American production has improved since last December, March’s recovery was just 1% higher year on year. And it’s still 13.5% below the pre-pandemic period of March 2019. At the onset of 2022, the global auto […]
I shouldn’t say put a fork in this market and call it done. It’s probably too early for that. But some of the anecdotal indicators I mentioned last week are increasingly showing up in the data we and others collect. Take a look at today’s issue: Lead times are still rising, for the most part. […]
The competitive advantage foreign import prices hold over domestic steel is relatively unchanged from our previous update, with most prices moving just $10-$20 from last week, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices range from $305 per ton cheaper than domestic prices to $27 per ton more expensive, […]
Steel Market Update has been working on the agenda for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held in Atlanta on August 22-24. This year’s conference will address many of the issues affecting the flat-rolled and plate steel markets. Over the next few issues, we will roll out our conference program, the confirmed […]
Steel Market Update has been working on the agenda for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held in Atlanta on August 22-24. This year’s conference will address many of the issues affecting the flat-rolled and plate steel markets. Over the next few issues, we will roll out our conference program, the confirmed […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group It is natural to speculate about how well demand for aluminum can hold up given the effects of dramatically higher prices, both on aluminum itself and the broader economy. Conversations with many of our clients’ center on concerns about demand destruction. The logic is simple: With gasoline, food and interest […]
We still have a few spots remaining in our upcoming Introduction to Steel Hedging: Managing Price Risk course, which will run virtually on April 26-27, 2022. Steel Market Update and Spencer Johnson, StoneX Financial Inc. – FCM Division, along with the CME Group, will be conducting a workshop for those who are actively involved in the buying or […]