By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett and CRU Chief Economist and Head of Sustainability Jumana Saleheen A disappointing outlook for U.S. Q3 growth, and the problems in China’s construction sector, have led us to downgrade our forecast for 2021 world growth from 5.8% to 5.4%. Our forecast for 2021 growth in Industrial Production has been revised […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service, Nov. 18 The world economy is facing multiple headwinds. Supply-chain problems continue to hold back industrial sectors and elevate inflation. Meanwhile, an energy crisis is adding to the pressure on manufacturers and consumers. On the demand side, the biggest risk remains the Chinese […]
By CRU Principal Economist Alex Tuckett, from CRU’s Global Economic Outlook, Jan. 31 2022 has begun with tentative signs that supply chains are slowly normalizing. Business survey measures of delays, bottlenecks and price pressures in the U.S. and Europe are moderating. PPI inflation looks to have peaked. This is essential to our view that consumer price inflation […]
Here’s the Steel Summit program for Wednesday, Aug. 25, at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta: 7 a.m. – Doors open at GICC. All day beverage sponsored by Felux and pastries sponsored by Ratner Steel 8:20-8:30 a.m. – Opening Remarks by SMU President and CEO John Packard 8:30-9:30 a.m. – Steel […]
After 12 months of planning, countless hours of discussions about our agenda, whether we would be virtual, live or both, and agonizing over how to best conduct a safe live event not knowing what direction the pandemic would be taking – the bottom line is it’s showtime. The weather forecast is for no rain on […]
The 2021 SMU Steel Summit started with a bang on Monday morning. Turns out it was a transformer that blew. Just as the opening video and music was revving up and host John Packard was getting into his opening remarks, the Georgia International Convention Center was plunged into darkness save for some emergency lighting. Thinking […]
Settling on the direction of SMU’s Price Momentum Indicators has been an easy task for the past year. Prices on all products were clearly moving upward week after week as demand continued to outstrip supplies. Today, the market is changing, and the trend is less clear. Determining price momentum is considerably trickier. SMU does not […]
On Friday, Steel Market Update sent data providers the final analysis for July of service center inventories, shipments, steel on-order, and percentage of inventories tied up for contract sales. Premium members will receive the report on Monday. As expected, after reviewing our Flash Report which is provided to data providers five days into the new […]
One Week to Go… There is now but one week to go before the doors open at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta for the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference on August 23. This year the conference will be unique as it will be a “hybrid” event. By this I mean we will […]
What does the infrastructure spending plan passed this week by the Senate mean for steel? On Tuesday, in a bipartisan vote, the Senate passed a $1 trillion infrastructure package that includes $550 billion in new federal spending. That measure now moves on to the House for consideration. Around 44% of total U.S. steel demand is […]
By CRU Senior Editor Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) fell by 4.8% in August to 393.8, making it the first reading below the 400 level since May. Price falls for scrap and HBI were similar in scale, but pig iron prices have moved notably lower. Demand […]
As domestic hot rolled steel prices climb upwards of $1,900 per ton, foreign steel imports continue to tempt U.S. buyers, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. While domestic prices have risen week after week, foreign prices have remained steady to down, holding potential discounts of 13% to 40% after taking […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The automotive industry accounts for approximately 10% of end-use sector zinc demand, in the form of galvanized steel sheet, die castings and oxide. Even before the pandemic, vehicle output and sales in some of the major producing countries were being constrained by new […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market have continued to rise, though the rate of increase has slowed since the end of May. The price of HR coil has increased $21 /s.ton w/w and is now $126 /s.ton higher than our assessment on […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The iron ore price decline continues as demand for spot cargoes in China is exceptionally weak, while we have started seeing signs of improving supply from Australia. On Tuesday, Aug. 10, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $160.0 /dmt, a $25.0 […]
On Wednesday, Aug. 11 at 11 a.m. ET, SMU CEO John Packard and Paul Terry of the CRU Events Team will conduct a free SMU Community Chat Webinar focused on this year’s SMU Steel Summit Conference, which will be held on Aug. 23-25 in Atlanta. We will discuss: The conference agenda, speakers and what to expect […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Over the past few months, we have seen a number of short-term strike actions around North America: a Montreal four-day strike in May and the Charleston International Longshoremen Association (ILA) filing strike notices at the same time. While both industrial actions have not resulted in extended work stoppages, they […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill promises to deliver about $550 million in actual new investment. The breakdown of that investment looks as follow. Aluminum and steel have superior sustainability advantages and should exploit them. Clearly, the steel industry is cheering the passage as much as the aluminum industry. Both […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Prices fell w/w in southern Europe and China but were stable in Asia and up somewhat in India. Prices in the U.S. again were the outlier this week, rising by three times as much as anywhere else. In fact, the differential between U.S. […]
When we reported steel prices on Tuesday, we noted that for the first time in a year we saw mixed results with some prices rising, one remaining the same and one dropping. We did not change our Price Momentum Indicator. However, we noted that we were carefully watching the markets to see when we would […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore has continued its fall by registering a $15 /dmt drop in the past week after steep declines at the end of last week, followed by a slight rebound on Monday and Tuesday. Chinese buying interest has subsided quickly as the number […]
The United States and the European Union aim to resolve their differences around Section 232 tariffs on the EU by Nov. 1, an EU official said. “On the U.S. Section 232, both sides confirmed readiness to find a solution by 1 November,” the EU official told Steel Market Update (SMU). “In terms of progress, both […]
Looking for Signs One year ago, benchmark hot rolled prices bottomed at $440 per ton ($22.00/cwt). Since then, steel prices have been on a tear with spot hot rolled more than four times higher at nearly $1,900 per ton ($95.00/cwt). The net result from this 52-week march higher is the way steel buyers view the […]
Looking for Signs One year ago, benchmark hot rolled prices bottomed at $440 per ton ($22.00/cwt). Since then, steel prices have been on a tear with spot hot rolled more than four times higher at nearly $1,900 per ton ($95.00/cwt). The net result from this 52-week march higher is the way steel buyers view the […]
There are three weeks left before the start of the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference at 9 a.m. on Aug. 23. The amount of effort and thought being put into this one event is monumental. The pandemic, and the resistance by some Americans to being vaccinated, has provided new challenges this year as we make our […]
There are three weeks left before the start of the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference at 9 a.m. on Aug. 22. Even so, our virtual platform opened this morning which allows registered attendees to interact with one another directly through the platform. We have 900+ registered executives from manufacturing, steel distribution, steel mills, trading companies, toll […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Workers walked out of Rio Tinto’s Kitimat, British Columbia, smelter on Sunday, July 25, after failing to secure a new contract. The union voted 100% in favor of the strike. This smelter was operating at 383,000 metric tons/year. Some familiar themes are at the center of the labor dispute. […]
On Monday, Aug. 2, Steel Market Update will open the 2021 SMU Steel Summit Conference platform to all fully registered attendees. The platform, which was used to conduct last year’s conference and is being used for our virtual workshops, is replacing the App we have used in the past. Our virtual platform will enhance the conference […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Helen O’Cleary U.S. refined demand continues to impress through the traditionally slower summer months, with market contacts reporting still-strong off-take under long-term contracts into August. We hear that many consumers continue to take the higher end of their contracted metal tonnage, with some still buying additional spot quantities. A further increase […]
The incentive to purchase hot rolled steel imports over steel produced domestically continues to grow, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. As domestic prices soar higher, foreign prices are flat or declining, holding potential discounts of 11% to 27% after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs […]