Steel prices have moved steadily and predictably upward week after week for the past year. But Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday delivered some mixed signals for the first time since August of 2020. Hot rolled coil prices moved up again by another $30 per ton, falling just short of […]
New orders, production and employment grew in July despite a deceleration is supplier deliveries and growing backlogs, said the Institute for Supply Management in the July 2021 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI fell 1.1 percentage points in July to 59.5%, still above 50% and indicating expansion in the overall economy for the […]
Steel prices continued to climb through the month of July, now the 11th consecutive month prices have increased. Hot-rolled steel prices increased an average of $30 per ton ($1.50 per cwt) each week, with the SMU index averaging $1,860 per ton ($93 per cwt) as of last Tuesday. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator has remained unchanged since the […]
Some experts believe short supplies and record-high steel prices are nearing a tipping point with new steelmaking capacity soon to come online and loads of imports on the water headed this way. But that’s not the prevailing sentiment among the service center and manufacturing executives who responded to SMU’s questionnaire this week. While it may […]
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 […]
Spot tons of flat rolled steel are still in short supply, report respondents to Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week. Any tons that are available command a rising premium. Flat rolled prices increased by another $10-40 per ton, with some reporting hot rolled offers as high as $1,900, though HRC saw a […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows that lead times for deliveries of spot orders from the mills have shortened slightly on all flat rolled products. The dip of a half-week or less is not highly significant, however, as average lead times for hot rolled orders remain above 10 weeks, while those […]
This evening we published our SMU Mill Lead Times by Product analysis. I recently received a few questions on the subject: How do we gather our lead time data? Do we take into consideration the lead times being published by the individual domestic steel mills? How do we feel the information we report is indicative […]
Flat-rolled steel prices continue to shoot upward – with no signs of the summer doldrums, the chip shortage or fears of a correction blunting their momentum. U.S hot-rolled rolled coil prices now stand at $1,850 per ton ($92.50 per cwt), up $30 per ton from a week ago. Cold-rolled coil and galvanized base prices notched similar […]
Flat-rolled steel prices continue to shoot upward – with no signs of the summer doldrums, the chip shortage or fears of a correction blunting their momentum. U.S hot-rolled rolled coil prices now stand at $1,850 per ton ($92.50 per cwt), up $30 per ton from a week ago. Cold-rolled coil and galvanized base prices notched similar […]
Lobbying groups for steel consumers blasted a federal appeals court’s decision to uphold former President Donald Trump’s abrupt doubling of Section 232 tariffs on Turkey to 50%. The tariffs have already led to high prices, long lead times and shortages that have hurt downstream manufacturers, and the decision regarding Turkey could set a dangerous precedent by […]
Flat Rolled = 47.6 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 44 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories increased again in June, though service centers continue to report that they are unable to meet customer demand. At the end of June, service centers carried 47.6 shipping days of supply, up from the […]
Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of foreign and domestic steel prices shows a growing attraction for foreign imports across the board. After taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration, foreign prices now hold potential discounts of 8% to 38%. The spread between domestic HRC and foreign imports has surged since late-May, reaching record highs in favor of foreign HRC producers in Far […]
Steel prices rose another $35-50 per ton this week with hot rolled and coated products surpassing notable new benchmarks of $1,800/$2,000. Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week puts the average HRC price at $1,820 per ton ($91/cwt) and galvanized at $2,030 ($101.5/cwt). Buyers continued to voice concerns about late mill shipments and […]
Big River Steel plans to take a week-long plant-wide maintenance outage in October at its mill in Osceola, Ark., a company spokeswoman confirmed. The planned outage, for normal preventative maintenance and mill reliability, is scheduled to start on Oct. 10, she said. The scheduled maintenance includes both electric-arc furnaces (EAFs)—with annual production capacity of 3.3 […]
So much for the summer doldrums. After a brief pause following Independence Day (and Canada Day), sheet prices have resumed their sharp upward trajectory. Hot-rolled coil prices are now over $1,800 per ton ($90 per cwt) while cold-rolled and galvanized base prices are above $2,000 per ton ($100 per cwt). If this pace of gains […]
You may be tired of reading about it, but there is no ignoring the question: When will hot rolled coil prices finally peak? So many livelihoods depend on the answer. Unfortunately, Steel Market Update survey data clearly shows that no one knows. Roughly one-third of those polled this week believe steel prices will have peaked […]
You may be tired of reading about it, but there is no ignoring the question: When will hot rolled coil prices finally peak? So many livelihoods depend on the answer. Unfortunately, Steel Market Update steel survey data clearly shows that no one knows. Roughly one-third of those polled this week believe hot rolled steel prices […]
U.S. industrial production, manufacturing and durable goods orders continue to show improvement from the coronavirus pandemic downturn, indicating a strengthening manufacturing sector. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. Note that some of the historical data below has been adjusted by the U.S. Census Bureau […]
SMU found no evidence of a summer lull in our latest check of the market. Sheet prices were flat or up in a post-holiday period that in prior years has seen them slip. Hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil prices were unchanged. Galvanized and Galvalume prices were up $25 per ton and $50 per ton, respectively. […]
SMU found no evidence of a summer lull in our latest check of the market. Sheet prices were flat or up in a post-holiday period that in prior years has seen them slip. Hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled coil prices were unchanged. Galvanized and Galvalume prices were up $25 per ton and $50 per ton, respectively. […]
U.S. steel product shipments rebounded in May, up 3.1% following a 7.1% decrease the month prior. Steel product shipments have been irregular from month to month since bottoming out in May 2020. The seesaw pattern over the past year is attributable to several factors including mill outages, factory curtailments and seasonal disruptions as the marketplace […]
Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI) and United Steelworkers (USW) union negotiators have reached a tentative four-year labor agreement, according to both the union and the company. The deal, if ratified by rank-and-file union members, would end a strike that began on March 30 – more than three months ago. The new contract – backdated to March […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) is in the process of starting up the coating lines at its new steel mill in Sinton, Texas, a company spokesman confirmed. The paint line at Sinton has been threaded, and painting is expected to begin in approximately two weeks, he said. The mill’s galvanizing line, meanwhile, is slated to start […]
There will be no Steel Market Update published on Sunday, July 4th, due to the national holiday (USA). We will resume coverage on Tuesday, July 6th. We wish everyone a safe holiday filled with family and friends (at least for those who have been vaccinated). Interesting comments received earlier this week from a steel executive whom I […]
Interesting comments received earlier this week from a steel executive whom I know well, and I respect his opinions. The topic of the day was one that I know drives the steel mills crazy – steel analysts’ price projections. Many of the analysts are calling for prices to peak within the next 60 days (in […]
The latest spread between foreign and domestic steel prices shows an increasing attraction for foreign imports, according to our most recent foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. The price differentials (after taking freight costs, trader margins and tariffs into consideration) between domestic HRC and foreign imports had surged from February to March of […]
As steel prices around the globe surge in response to the war in Ukraine, the brief competitive advantage domestic prices held over foreign steel has flattened, according to SMU’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. Select foreign HRC prices are anywhere from $138 per ton cheaper than domestic prices to $74 per ton […]
You’ll have to wait until the fourth quarter if you’re looking for flat rolled from California Steel Industries (CSI). The West Coast slab converter announced that it had closed its September order book on Thursday, July 1 – just a week after it opened the month and increased prices by $200 per ton ($10 per […]
New orders and production picked up in June, while employment contracted, supplier deliveries slowed and backlogs lengthened, said the Institute for Supply Management in its June 2021 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business. The Manufacturing PMI fell a slight 0.6 percentage point to 60.6 after rising in May and indicates expansion for the overall economy. “Business Survey Committee panelists […]