Flat rolled steel prices dropped again this week. One of our domestic steel mill sources told us this afternoon, “Everything is down about a buck from last week.” This source went on to say that the U.S. steel mills are producing more and exporting less. The net result being there is more supply available. Here […]
Steel buyers can be fickle people. They are tasked with keeping their company in product, and that those purchases be competitively priced at the time they are used. This is a daunting task when markets ebb and flow, and even more difficult when the government decides to become a major player in determining who will […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce has released import license data for the months of October and November through the 13th of the month. October foreign steel imports are expected to reach 3 million net tons on the back of almost 900,000 net tons of semi-finished steels (mostly slabs going to the domestic steel mills). It […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories through September. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through September and in 12 months through September for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic […]
Flat rolled steel prices dropped this week based on our analysis of the market. Benchmark hot rolled coil dropped $5 per ton and is now averaging $800 per ton ($40.00/cwt). We saw even larger negative price movements in cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels. Plate prices, however, were flat and the expectation of plate steel […]
This evening’s price and price momentum discussion comes after a number of conversations held with flat rolled steel service center CEO’s and a trading company executive on Thursday and Friday of last week. The words “mud” and “murky” were prominent as the steel distributors try to figure out where things are headed as we enter […]
This evening’s price and price momentum discussion comes after a number of conversations held with flat rolled steel service center CEO’s and a trading company executive on Thursday and Friday of last week. The words “mud” and “murky” were prominent as the steel distributors try to figure out where things are headed as we enter […]
Most buyers tell Steel Market Update that flat rolled mills are open to price negotiations on hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steel products. The notable exception is plate. Two out of three respondents to SMU’s latest market trends questionnaire report that plate mills will not compromise on price, while one-third have found some wiggle […]
Lead times for Galvalume and plate products shortened up a bit in the past two weeks, but otherwise lead times for flat rolled products have seen little change in October or November, despite the price hike announcements by the major mills. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the […]
Flat rolled steel prices continue to vacillate as we saw the low end of our range on benchmark hot rolled coil improve by $20 per ton. We are aware of a couple end-of-the-year deals that are below our range, but we feel at this point they are limited and not available to the greater market. […]
U.S. steel imports for October are likely to fall just below 3 million tons when the Census data is final, based on license data from the Department of Commerce. The total is roughly in line with the 12-month moving average for imports, but up more than 30 percent from September. Imports of semi-finished steel, mostly […]
Except for plate, which held its own at around $1,000 a ton, steel prices generally weakened further in October, continuing a decline that began this summer. Steel Market Update data in the table below shows that the benchmark hot rolled coil price dipped below $800 per ton after sliding by about $45 during the month. […]
Flat rolled steel prices have stalled, despite the increase announcements out of many of the domestic steel mills. Plate steel spot prices, on the other hand, continue to remain firm in December with an expectation of a $40 price increase being collected in January. Steel Market Update canvassed the flat rolled and plate steel buyers […]
Flat rolled steel prices have stalled, despite the increase announcements out of many of the domestic steel mills. Plate steel spot prices, on the other hand, continue to remain firm in December with an expectation of a $40 price increase being collected in January. Steel Market Update canvassed the flat rolled and plate steel buyers […]
As expected in a market where foreign suppliers must pay a 25 percent tariff (50 percent for those in Turkey), steel imports into the United States are down 11 percent for the year to date. Unexpected were the increases in imports of hot rolled sheet and plate. Steel Market Update’s analysis of Commerce Department data […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released updated foreign steel import data for September and October yesterday, with the September figure down to 2.2 million tons and the October trend remaining over 3 million tons. Prior to this week, the September total was hovering around 2.7 million to 2.9 million net tons. Our October trend is […]
Registration is now open for the first Steel 101 workshop of the New Year (2019). The first Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop in the New Year will be held in Starkville, Miss., on Jan. 29-30, 2019. This workshop will be special as we will be touring the SDI Columbus EAF […]
Flat rolled steel buyers are advising Steel Market Update that lead times have extended about one week since the recent price announcements. The mills continue to ask about their competition and to negotiate, which is not a sure-fire sign of strength or conviction in the new increases. Plate is a different animal and continues to […]
Lead times for most flat rolled steel products ticked up slightly this month, according to returns from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire. Could this signal the end of the downtrend? This is an important question considering the domestic steel mills announced price increases just last week. Lead times for steel delivery are a […]
Steel buyers still have a strong bargaining position with the mills, but perhaps not quite as strong as a month ago. Steel Market Update tracks how buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel characterize the mills in price negotiations. A slightly lower percentage report mills willing to negotiate spot prices on new orders placed this […]
They may be off the table as of today, but late last week (and some buyers reported some still existing early this week) there were special deals – many tied to large tonnage – as the domestic mills attempted to fill their hot rolled order books. We did have a number of buyers and a […]
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Commerce released the latest foreign steel import license data for September and October. Based on our analysis, the import trend for October continues to be much higher than we would have anticipated. We are looking at the month trending over 3 million net tons. The biggest reason for the […]
We saw mixed results in the flat rolled markets this week. Benchmark hot rolled dropped $5 per ton compared to one week ago. Cold rolled was modestly higher ($5/ton), while galvanized and Galvalume were down $15 per ton. Plate prices remained intact with no change compared to one week ago. Here is how we see […]
We saw more erosion in hot rolled steel prices this week based on the responses we received from our data providers throughout the day today. Benchmark hot rolled dropped to an average of $835 per ton, while other flat rolled products saw mixed results. Cold rolled rose as the low-end numbers disappeared from last week. […]
In an article last week, I overstated the amount of quota Brazil had for Galvalume. One of the other traders/mills was nice enough to provide me the accurate data. The yearly quota on AZ is 49,974.44 metric tons. The other flat rolled and plate product quotas out of Brazil are as follows: Hot rolled = […]
Lead times for most flat rolled steel products continue to shrink, according to returns from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the shorter the lead time, the less busy the mill, and theoretically the more flexible the price. Lead times for […]
Hot rolled prices slipped this week while the other flat rolled products pretty much held their own. Plate prices in December are running essentially unchanged to November with limited spot tons available. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $820-$860 per ton ($41.00/cwt-$43.00/cwt) with an average of […]
CSN continues to export slabs and coated steels to the United States, but tariffs and quotas make the market a challenge for the Brazilian steelmaker, reports a Steel Market Update source. Earlier this year, Steel Dynamics bought the CSN conversion mill in Terre Haute, Ind. At the time of the purchase, the company had two […]
The slippage in spot pricing has slowed as flat rolled and plate prices continue to remain firm. We saw a tightening of the spread on hot rolled as both the upper and lower ends of the range moved closer. The other flat rolled products saw strength at the lower end of the range with adjustments […]
When looking at the last four years of import data, as well as the first seven months of data available from the U.S. Department of Commerce, we are seeing a reduction in most flat rolled products. Of the past four years, 2014 was by far the biggest year for foreign steel imports into the United […]