I will be in my office on Monday, Thursday and Friday of this week. I will be traveling to New York City for the AHR Expo on Tuesday and Wednesday. If you are attending the AHR Expo and would like to seek me out you can do so by email: John@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by phone (or […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral. This means we see steel market pricing at this moment as either in transition or moving sideways over the next 30 days. With ferrous scrap prices now weakening, lead times shortening and all of the available capacity back in the market […]
Ferrous scrap prices, which prior to the beginning of negotiations for the month of January were forecast to rise by $20 to $50 per gross ton, actually began shrinking as this past week progressed. Early settlements ranged from $10 on prime grades to $15-$25 per gross ton on obsolete and shredded scrap. As the week […]
Schnitzer Steel Industries, a metals recycling business, reported an adjusted net loss of $5 million during the first quarter 2014, ending Nov. 30, 2013, compared to adjusted net losses of $14 million the previous quarter and $1 million a year ago. Losses reflected soft ferrous scrap prices early in the quarter and restructuring costs. “All […]
Commercial Metals Company (CMC) posted net earnings of $45.9 million on net sales of $1.7 billion for its first quarter of fiscal year 2014 ending on November 30, 2013. This compares with net earnings of $49.7 million on a similar net sale amount of $1.7 billion for the same period in FY 2013. Results included […]
The year 2013 for hot rolled steel futures was a story of two halves, with the beginning of the year trading in a strong contango and the second half of the year stuck in backwardation. The beginning of the year was characterized by low prices and significant volatility while the second half of the year […]
Ferrous scrap prices are expected to rise as we enter the New Year. Early indications are for scrap prices to make a rather serious move as cold weather sets into the North, further reducing already weak flows of the material into the scrap yards. Prices are forecast to move a minimum of $20-$30 per gross […]
The futures market has traded in a very tight range over the past couple of weeks. Prices in the front months, December and January, have continued to firm trading around $670 per ton. The further out, the curve prices have remained backwardated as the risk of imports in the 2nd quarter onwards continues to weigh […]
October ferrous scrap exports totaled 1,451,844 net tons (1,317,092 metric tons) with Turkey, Korea, Taiwan, China, and Mexico being the top five countries where scrap was sent. These countries accounted for over 74.1 percent of all scrap exports. Of the higher ranking countries in the table below, there was month-over-month increase in ferrous scrap exports […]
The U.S. ferrous scrap market has seen prices moving higher during the first 10 days of December. We have seen shredded scrap prices moving $20 to $45 per gross ton depending on the market. Busheling has been more plentiful and has managed to remain stable to up $10 in most markets. We asked one of […]
Steel buyers are bracing for a new round of flat rolled price increases according to steel buyers and executives as well as the results of our most recent Steel Market Update (SMU) market analysis of the flat rolled steel market which we conducted this past week. “It’s time to raise the price of flat rolled […]
We continue to get positive feedback regarding the new SMU website. As with any new site as complicated as ours is there will be a few bugs and a learning curve to negotiate through in the early stages. We are working through those and believe we are offering a unique experience for those involved in […]
The original forecast for December scrap pricing was for ferrous scrap prices to move sideways (no change) to slightly higher, maybe $10 per gross ton. That was three weeks ago. As the month of December moved closer, the expectation for a sideways move was replaced with up $10 to $20 per gross ton. The month […]
It is still early in the process of negotiations between the domestic steel mills and their scrap suppliers. The steel mills are trying to pay the same prices for ferrous scrap as they did during the month of November and the scrap dealers are having none of it. The scrap suppliers are asking for prices […]
SMU Sources Forecast Scrap to Rise by $40 by the Beginning of the New Year Steel Market Update (SMU) scrap sources are forecasting ferrous scrap prices to rise by approximately $40 per ton by early January. December scrap prices are projected to be flat (sideways) to up slightly from November scrap pricing levels. However, scrap […]
September ferrous scrap exports totaled 1,548,020 metric tons (1,706,398 net tons) with Turkey, Korea, Taiwan, China, Mexico, and Canada being the top five recipients of U.S. collected scrap. Of the higher ranking countries in the table below, there was month-over-month increase in exports going to Korea and Mexico over the August figures, but a decrease […]
After weeks of ascending prices, the hot rolled coil (HRC) futures market has taken a breather in the last couple of days. Prices have retreated by about $5-10/ton down the curve as a weaker than expected Wednesday brought in several new sellers to the market. November and December periods remain well bid around $660 but, […]
Our existing website is about as basic as one can get when it comes to housing our pricing and other data. The existing site has no ability to provide data in a graphic form and our tables are cumbersome and pretty low-tech. This is not the image we want to project as we build toward […]
TSI Iron Ore: Market Remains Firm Iron ore prices have continued to be strong as Rebar futures have bounced off recent months lows last week and spot steel in China continues to go higher. Over the past couple of weeks iron ore prices have pushed up around $5/ton down the curve with Q1 trading around […]
CHICAGO, IL – November 6, 2013 SMS Mill Services Michigan, LLC (SMS) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a steel slab conditioning services agreement with Severstal North America (SNA) at its Dearborn, Michigan operation. With engineering already in process, SMS will provide infrastructure, equipment and personnel to fully scarf (skin), cut to […]
Our ferrous scrap sources are advising Steel Market Update to expect a minimum of $20 per gross ton increase in scrap prices as we head into the month of November mill buys. We are finding there is some weakness being exhibited on the east coast with the Claymont plate mill being shut down by Evraz, […]
Commercial Metals Company reported earnings of $4.1 million on net sales of $1.7 billion for its FY 2013 fourth quarter (ending August 31, 2013). Net earnings included an asset impairment charge of $25.9 million related to its Australian operation. In comparison, CMC reported net earnings of $30.2 million in fourth quarter 2012. CMC net earnings […]
TSI Iron Ore: Market Soften As Rebar Slides Iron ore prices have been fairly volatile over the past week as conflicting data and information coming out of China as moved the needle in opposite directions. The upshot to all of this intraday volatility is that prices remain fairly unchanged on a week-on-week basis. With rebar […]
In a normal ferrous scrap market the first deals done at the beginning of the month are usually those with the best pricing. The month of October is turning out to be one of the exception months as many dealers rejected the preliminary lower offers and managed to trade steel scrap at the same numbers […]
TSI Iron Ore: Market Quiet During Chinese Golden Week… Iron ore prices have remained steady over the past week as the Chinese have been off for their Golden Week holiday. Demand while steady appears to be seen as fragile by many. The market remains in backwardation with prices down the curve continuing to trade at a […]
A quick note about ferrous scrap. From the early deals being done – and there are still a number yet which need to be completed. Our sources are advising us that scrap prices have been trading lower by $5 to $10 per gross ton in the east. However, in the Midwest there have been trades […]
This week the domestic steel mills and their scrap suppliers will be locked in negotiations to determine the price of ferrous scrap used in the EAF’s and BOF’s to make steel. Steel Market Update sources have been advising that the October scrap market looks to be down $10 per gross ton before firming later in […]
TSI Iron Ore: Prices Wobble in Signs Market is Cooling… Iron ore prices have softened over the past couple of weeks, but are still holding the recent range above $130 per ton. Mixed news out of China regarding steel demand has cooled off buying for the time being as the market has failed to break […]
July ferrous scrap exports totaled 1,203,282 metric tons (1,326,390 net tons) with Turkey, Taiwan, China, Mexico, and Canada being the top five importing countries of U.S. scrap. Of the higher ranking countries in the table below, there was month-over-month increase in exports going to Turkey, China, Mexico, Canada, and Indonesia over the June figures, but […]
TSI Iron Ore: Prices Stay Firm, Future Is Uncertain… After breaking through the psychological ceiling of $140/ ton a couple of weeks ago, the iron ore spot market has retreated ever so slightly to $137. While this is not necessarily an indication of a reversal in the pricing trend, it may shed light on […]