SMU Survey: Most mills still willing to talk price
The majority of steel buyers we canvassed this week continue to report that mills are willing to negotiate prices on new spot orders, though not as much as they were in early-January.
The majority of steel buyers we canvassed this week continue to report that mills are willing to negotiate prices on new spot orders, though not as much as they were in early-January.
Sheet and plate prices remained in a holding pattern this week as the market awaited more specifics on potential Trump administration tariffs.
The price premium of galvanized coil over hot-rolled (HR) coil has continued to narrow, a downward trend seen for the past seven months. As of this week, the spread between these two products has reached an 18-month low.
Reflecting on 2024 and looking ahead to the new year, galvanized steel buyers on this month’s HARDI call expressed a mix of cautious optimism with lingering uncertainties.
The steel industry may have to wait even longer for the initial duty determinations in the pending coated steel unfair trade investigations.
The Commerce Department is raising the import duties on imports of corrosion-resistant sheet and cut-to-length plate from Korea.
Steel prices have remained relatively stable in recent weeks, though they have generally trended downward since October.
Canada has launched its own investigation into the dumping of corrosion-resistant steel sheet. Unlike the sprawling coated case underway in the US, this one will look at coated imports from just one country and company.
This week, the spread between SMU's hot rolled and galvanized indices is only a few dollars away from a 16-month low.
The slowdown in North American zinc demand in recent months has played out across all sectors, and CRU now expects it to contract by 3.7% y/y.
Domestic galvanized prices remain relatively rangebound despite the conclusion of the US presidential election.
At the request of domestic petitioners, the Commerce Department has postponed its deadline for making preliminary countervailing duty margin determinations in the coated steel trade case investigations.
The theme of “unprecedented stability” in pricing predominated among galvanized steel buyers this month.
Nucor isn’t overly concerned with low utilization rates or an oversupplied market, as its investment strategy is for the long term, executives reminded investors on Tuesday.
On Friday, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) voted to continue the trade case investigation of corrosion-resistant (CORE) steel imports from 10 trading partners.
AZZ Inc., relatively unfazed by volatility in zinc pricing, is optimistic about demand prospects and M&A opportunities, especially in the galvanizing sector.
AZZ Inc. posted sharply higher second-quarter profits driven by increased sales of and better demand for its products. The Fort Worth, Texas-based hot-dipped galvanized and coil coater reported net income of $35.4 million in the second quarter of 2024, up 43.3% from $24.7 million in the same quarter last year. It posted Q2'24 sales of $409 million, up 2.6% from $398.5 million in Q2'23.
We are pleased to share this CRU analysis of the North American zinc market with SMU subscribers.
On Thursday, the Department of Commerce announced it would initiate investigations into coated steel imports from ten countries.
Galvanized steel buyers on Tuesday discussed the eerie stability in sheet prices of late. Expectations are for the murky market to persist in the short term, while glimmers of hope continue for prices pushing higher.
The premium galvanized coil prices carry over hot-rolled (HR) coil continues to shrink, according to SMU price indices.
SMU has compiled a list of key dates to watch out for in the expansive trade case filed last week targeting corrosion-resistant steel imports.
SMU’s steel price indices showed mixed signals for a second consecutive week. Our hot rolled, cold rolled, and plate price indices inched lower from last week, as the galvanized index held steady and Galvalume's ticked higher.
Domestic steel producers and the United Steelworkers (USW) union filed a barrage of trade cases last week. This is hardly news. Ever since the Commerce Department ruled that Vietnam is still treated as a nonmarket economy (NME) for antidumping purposes, many in the business expected new cases on the product that Vietnam excels at—“corrosion-resistant steel.” Nor is it a surprise that these cases roped in nine countries in addition to Vietnam: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. All these countries rank in the top ten exporters of corrosion-resistant steel to the United States. These petitions are a broadside against coated flat-rolled steel imports.
Domestic mills have alleged substantial dumping margins in the trade case targeting imports of corrosion-resistant steel.
US mills have filed or soon will file a sprawling trade petition against imports of coated flat-rolled steel from 10 countries. The petition seeks anti-dumping margins against Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Taiwan, Australia, and South Africa. It also seeks countervailing duty margins against Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Vietnam. That’s according documents dated Sept. 5 and addressed to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and International Trade Commission (ITC) Secretary Lisa Barton.
Swampy. Sticky. Mushy. Murky. These were all words galvanized buyers used this week to describe the current state of the US steel market.
Steel buyers continue to report short mill lead times for both sheet and plate products, according to SMU's latest canvass of the market. Lead times for hot-rolled and plate products marginally increased from our late July survey, likely due to limited restocking in anticipation of upcoming mill outages for scheduled maintenance.
The Department of Commerce issued the p antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVDs) on corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from South Korea.
US steel imports registered a steep decline from May, with June licenses falling to the lowest monthly level so far this year.