By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group One of the hot topics resonating through commodity market forecasts is the risk to demand from a faltering Chinese real estate market. The well-publicized financial difficulties of Evergrande have raised fears that the property markets could destabilize. Other developers such as Kaisa and Sinic Holdings have also struggled to […]
As we enter the fifth month of declining domestic steel prices, hot rolled imports continue to tempt U.S. buyers with potential discounts of 26-34%, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price comparison. Foreign hot rolled steel prices are now theoretically $365-490 per ton cheaper than domestic steel, after taking freight costs, trader […]
As we enter the fifth month of declining domestic steel prices, hot rolled imports continue to tempt U.S. buyers with potential discounts of 26-34%, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price comparison. Foreign hot rolled steel prices are now theoretically $365-490 per ton cheaper than domestic steel, after taking freight costs, trader […]
I want to spend some time talking about the Steel Market Update website and the value that can be found there. Over the years we have tweaked and added new content to the site as we strive to provide more information to the industry and our readers. The SMU Website There are a number of […]
2022 Tampa Steel Conference Update Registrations continue to grow for the 2022 Tampa Steel Conference which is just four weeks away (Feb. 14-16). It is looking like this will be the best-attended Tampa Steel Conference in many years, if not in the entire history. We are seeing a wide range of companies deciding to attend […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg and Research Analyst Aaron Kearney-Keaveny, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Jan. 19 Over the past month, the iron ore price has continued its rise that started back in mid-November, reaching $125 /dmt on Jan. 18. The rise has been more volatile than the previous month, but has shown […]
By CRU Senior Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Jan. 20 U.S. sheet prices fell sharply in the last month, as mills had issues filling their order books and offered steep discounts to convince buyers not to book imports. Multiple buyers said that imports were $400 /s.ton lower than current domestic […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor January 2022 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) fell in January m/m by 4.4% to 383.9, which is an unusual move for this time of year. Demand in most markets, particularly in Europe and the USA, was weaker-than-expected, and relatively mild weather conditions leading up […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor, Feb. 10 The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose in February m/m by 2.4% to 392.9, gaining back some of the ground lost during January’s unusually bearish market. This slight upward trend was driven primarily by supply scarcity for obsolete grade scrap and pig iron, […]
Editor’s note: SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held a variety of commercial […]
Editor’s note: SMU contributor Bryan Tice is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and the firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. Before joining Metal Edge Partners, Bryan held a variety of commercial […]
By Principal Analyst Josh Spoores from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, Jan. 22 Trends in the North American sheet market have picked up where 2021 left off, particularly a continued decline in sheet prices. Various supply pressures have overwhelmed demand and led to lower sheet prices in all North American markets. In the U.S. Midwest […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor, Feb. 9 Sheet prices in the North American sheet market have continued to collapse due to a temporary supply surplus. Since prices peaked in late September/early October, the price decline for HR and HDG coil has been at a larger amount in USD […]
Temperatures today in a large portion of the Northern U.S. are at or below freezing. This is not expected to change once we move into February. As you watch football this weekend, the weather in Tampa is expected to be in the low to mid-70’s and sunny…. Registrations for the 2022 Tampa Steel Conference are […]
Temperatures today in a large portion of the Northern U.S. are at or below freezing. This is not expected to change once we move into February. As you watch football this weekend, the weather in Tampa is expected to be in the low to mid-70’s and sunny…. Registrations for the 2022 Tampa Steel Conference are […]
Temperatures today in a large portion of the Northern U.S. are at or below freezing. Snow is piling up. This is not expected to change once we move into February. The average temperature in Tampa in February is 74 degrees with only four days of rain during the month. Make your plans now to join […]
We are delighted to announce that the next Introduction to Steel Hedging: Managing Price Risk course will run in-person on Feb. 14-15, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. alongside the Tampa Steel Conference. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet face-to-face with our expert instructors to gain a thorough introduction to hedging in the flat-rolled steel market and to take advantage of live class discussions and networking. We […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Virtually every mention of the infrastructure spending plans and Build Back Better touts renewable energy. We thought it might be worthwhile to talk about some of the tangible effects of that on solar photovoltaic (SPV) energy generation. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is the best source of data […]
By CRU Research Analyst James Mills and Multi Commodity Analyst Alex Christopher, Jan. 6 The synchronized rise in commodity prices in 2021 prompted some market commentators to speculate the beginnings of a “supercycle.” At CRU, we are more cautious. In the past year, commodity prices have been more volatile than in the preceding years, with […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Atul Kulkarni, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Jan. 31 The global steel industry is going to witness a transformation in terms of technology and operating practice due to decarbonization pressure. However, this transition will not come without substantial costs, as all CO2 abatement pathways are forecast to be more expensive than […]
Even after a 20% decline in U.S. hot rolled coil prices over the past four months, imports still offer buyers a tempting price advantage with potential discounts of 31-38%, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic price comparison. Foreign hot rolled steel prices are now theoretically $483-583 per ton cheaper than domestic steel, […]
Happy New Year! The first major live and in-person steel event is just six short weeks away as we prepare to host the industry at the Tampa Steel Conference. Steel Market Update will once again be working with Port Tampa Bay as we host the 33rdedition of the Tampa Steel Conference. The 2022 TSC will […]
The first major live and in-person steel event is just six short weeks away as we prepare to host the industry at the Tampa Steel Conference. Steel Market Update will once again be working with Port Tampa Bay as we host the 33rdedition of the Tampa Steel Conference. The 2022 TSC will be held on […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Happy New Year. We hope you had a healthy and happy holiday season. The aluminum market is slowing coming back to life and witnessing serious supply constraints. European primary production is withering under high power prices. The impetus behind the rally in price is simple – incredibly high spot […]
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Tonight’s issue will be the final one for this year. We will pick up publishing our newsletters again on Tuesday, Jan. 4. The first thing I want to do tonight is to thank every one of our members for their support over this past year. In light of the […]
Welcome back to those who took an extra day or two off after the New Year. This is my first article of the year as Michael and Tim continue to absorb more of my workload. For those of you who did not view or listen in on the SMU Community Chat we hosted yesterday with […]
For those of you who did not view or listen in on the SMU Community Chat we hosted on Wednesday, January 5th with Timna Tanners of Wolfe Research (she used to be with Bank of America), you missed an interesting webinar. You can find it on our website under the SMU Community Chat tab or […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Prices for three of the seven steelmaking raw materials tracked in this SMU analysis increased over the last 30 days, while three products decreased and one was unchanged. Through Dec. 21, iron ore prices […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor, Dec. 21 Iron ore prices have continued to rise in the past week, a typical year-end development observed in recent years. This is the time when steelmakers start building iron ore stocks in anticipation of restricted transportation of ore from ports to mills […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Legislation passed Dec. 16 by the Senate and now on its way to the White House will all but ban imports connected at any point in the supply chain to materials from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. However well justified by human rights, this ban will be a challenge for […]