By Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) increased by 8.3% m/m in May to 370.7. Following China’s removal of a VAT rebate for steel exports, scrap markets in Asia surged. This momentum carried over to Turkey, where scrap import prices rose substantially m/m, although upward […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Welcome to inflation after a 40-year absence. I spoke at the 2021 Aluminum Extruders Council Annual Meeting in March and said to the audience that if you were under the age of 55, you probably have never seen real inflation. The last time the U.S. experienced high, persistent inflation […]
By Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor One year ago, the title of our May Steel Sheet Products Monitor was “Global sheet markets move past bottom of demand cycle.” Today, global sheet consumption continues to rise, reaching levels where current global production cannot keep pace. In addition to the continued demand rebound from […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor The iron ore market has experienced one of the most volatile weeks on record. Prices have traded within a $40 /dmt range within the past week due to demand uncertainty in China. On Tuesday, May 18, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Global steel prices, as measured by the CRUspi index, have increased for the 10th consecutive month, gaining 9.4% m/m and 116% y/y. This index now stands at 301.1, a new record high. This index continues to be supported by higher finished steel prices across all regions. […]
By CRU Research Manager, Aluminum, Eoin Dinsmore Utilizing the powerful CarbonFlow feature in CRU’s Emissions Analysis Tool, we explain why Rusal is proposing a demerger of its higher-carbon aluminum assets. UC Rusal, the largest aluminum producer outside China, announced on May 18 that it plans to split into two companies. “AL+” will house the company’s […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Whenever prices for key commodities such as aluminum, steel, wood or rubber start to really rise, there is a natural tendency for Procurement Officers to say, “let’s look at alternatives.” That’s their job, and if they weren’t looking at options to compensate for cost increases, they would be fired. […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Analysis Primary aluminum prices are on a roll in China and the World ex China. The Shanghai Metal Exchange (SHFE) spot price is 18,425 RMB or $2,825 per metric ton. Even adjusting out the 13% Value-Added-Tax (VAT) embedded in that price, it’s still a 10-year high of $2,500 per metric […]
You may be thinking about participating in one of our upcoming Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshops, but wonder what it’s like to learn virtually. If you have school age kids, you already know that so many of us have adapted to online learning. Here at SMU, we’ve had to pivot […]
You may be thinking about participating in one of our upcoming Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshops, but wonder what it’s like to learn virtually. If you have school age kids, you already know that so many of us have adapted to online learning. Here at SMU, we’ve had to pivot […]
Update on Tampa Steel Conference registrations: We are moving past 250 registered attendees for the Feb. 2 virtual conference. We fully anticipate the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference will attract 350-400+ attendees from manufacturing, distribution, steel mills, trading companies, logistics companies, ship lines, port facilities, toll processors and suppliers to those industries. You can learn more about the […]
Most new U.S. flat-rolled electric-arc furnace steelmaking capacity won’t start up until the second half of this year, which could have big implications for spot hot-rolled coil prices. The back-ended nature of the capacity add means the market might sustain hot-rolled coil prices of $1,000 per ton or more longer than many buyers believe, industry sources […]
2021 will be a year of hope for recovery after the coronavirus pandemic left its mark on the world in 2020. Monitoring the speed and nature of the recovery will be vital to understanding all markets. Drawing on conversations between market experts and people across commodity value chains, CRU expects interest in three topics to […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices continued to rise over the past week. Due to offloading constraints at Chinese ports, iron ore port inventories declined, contributing to the recent price hike. On Tuesday, Jan. 12, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $172.0 /dmt, $5.0 […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market have not only continued to rise, but the m/m gains have come so fast that our second Wednesday price assessment completely skipped the $900 /s.ton level. Our Jan. 12 price assessment for HR coil is $1,044 […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 27.1% m/m in January to 349.9 after metallics prices rose notably in every market we cover. As this is the second month of large price increases, many markets are now at, or nearly at, record highs. […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have held steady in the past week as restocking activities in China have continued and iron ore inventories at mills have been built up. At the same time, further disruptions in the supply chain have renewed supply fears in the […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service U.S. steel service center inventories continue to remain low in terms of material in stock, as many buyers reported that they cannot secure all the sheet steel they require. Steel Market Update, which is owned by CRU, reported service centers carried 51.3 shipping […]
By CRU Analyst Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor January 2021 After a turbulent start to 2021 for U.S. politics, President Biden begins his term with the unenviable task of bringing the Covid-19 outbreak under control and supporting the nascent U.S. economic recovery. He plans to start with a $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan and […]
After communicating with one of our readers over the weekend, I realize it is important for our readers, and those who interact with our website, to understand what the SMU Price Momentum Indicator means. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator definition on our website clearly states that this is meant to be a visual showing where […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that foreign producers continue to hold a price advantage over domestic HRC. With U.S. HRC prices now over $1,000 per ton, foreign HRC prices are theoretically between $10-$171 per ton cheaper than domestic steel prices. Recall that the price differentials between domestic […]
Quality information is KEY…in steel and in life. I have been struggling on how to deal with what I saw yesterday at the U.S. Capitol. We cannot allow thugs to attack the workings of our democracy. At the same time, we should hold those who spread disinformation to the public accountable for the disservice they […]
Quality information is KEY…in steel and in life. I have been struggling on how to deal with what I saw Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. We cannot allow thugs to attack the workings of our democracy. At the same time, we should hold those who spread disinformation to the public accountable for the disservice they […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg from CRU’s Steelmaking Raw Materials Monitor Iron ore prices have risen at the start of 2021 on continued strong appetite in China, while we have seen new short-term disruptions in the supply chain. On Tuesday, Jan. 5, CRU assessed the 62% Fe fines price at $167 /dmt, up by […]
As we enter the New Year registrations are starting to accelerate for the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference which will be held virtually on February 2nd of this year. We currently have 150 registrations, and we expect 300-500 attendees once the conference opens. Here are the companies registered. Those with an asterisk (*) next to […]
As we enter the New Year, registrations are starting to accelerate for the 32nd annual Tampa Steel Conference to be held virtually on Feb. 2. We currently have close to 200 registrations, and we expect 400-500 attendees once the conference opens. Here are the companies registered. Those with an asterisk (*) next to their name means they […]
As we enter the New Year (goodbye 2020, welcome 2021), you will notice changes to Steel Market Update. One of the very first things you will notice is that our newsletters will have more relevant content in them. This is due to the addition of Michael Cowden who joins us after spending 13 years with […]
John Packard, President & CEO of Steel Market Update discusses changes being made at the company, events on the books for 2021, and the status of the flat rolled and plate steel markets – including steel price commentary: As we enter the New Year (goodbye 2020, welcome 2021), you will notice changes to Steel Market […]
The Tampa Steel Conference will be conducted virtually for the first time in its 32-year history. The 2021 conference will be held on Feb. 2 and will be an all-day event. We encourage everyone to register for what promises to be both an entertaining and timely event. Steel Market Update and Port Tampa Bay are pleased […]
The Tampa Steel Conference will be conducted virtually for the first time in its 32-year history. The 2021 conference will be held on Feb. 2 and will be an all-day event. We encourage everyone to register for what promises to be both an entertaining and timely event. Steel Market Update and Port Tampa Bay are pleased […]