Ford has joined General Motors in extending North American assembly plant outages into the third quarter because of a persistent shortage of microchips. “Our teams continue making the most of our available semiconductor allocation and will continue finding unique solutions to provide as many high-quality vehicles as possible to our dealers and customers,” a Ford […]
Some foreign steel imports are slowly losing their price advantage over domestic steel, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled steel price comparison. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had surged through February and March to reach record highs in favor of foreign producers. Those spreads have […]
A coalition of U.S. steel industry lobbying groups and the United Steelworkers (USW) union want the Biden administration to keep Trump-era Section 232 tariffs and quotas on imported steel in place. The groups say the tariffs – rolled out in March 2018 on national security grounds – are necessary for the survival of the domestic […]
Flat Rolled = 41.8 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 42.8 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled U.S. service center flat rolled inventories remain low, though steel mills are starting to catch up on delayed orders. Service centers carried 41.8 shipping days of supply at the end of April, flat compared to March’s adjusted inventory […]
Mill shipments of steel products improved by 18.3% in March compared to the month prior, while apparent supply increased by 18.1% during the same period. The double-digit gains are even more impressive considering their low performance in February, the first decline in both apparent supply and shipments of steel since the market reached bottom back in […]
Two of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers are extending downtime at their North American plants into the summer months because of the ongoing microchip shortage. And one, Ford, has upcoming outages at all its U.S. assembly plants besides one in Dearborn, Mich., that makes the F-150 pickup truck, the best-selling vehicle in the United States. […]
The flat rolled steel market was a little tougher to read this week. Steel Market Update’s survey of the market over the past two days clearly shows a further increase in hot rolled prices, with buyers reporting offers as high as $1,600 per ton. SMU puts the average HR price at $1,540 this week as […]
Hot rolled steel prices have been on the rise for 40 weeks in a row now, reaching a new pinnacle of $1,570 per ton—at least until next week when they likely set another new record. Steel Market Update’s Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward higher prices over the next 30 days. SMU’s check of […]
Pressure is building on the Biden administration to provide relief for numerous manufacturing companies in the U.S. that say Section 232 tariffs are making supply chain problems worse. The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, the National Foreign Trade Council and other steel and aluminum users collaborated on a May 6 letter to President […]
Record-high steel prices result not from Section 232 tariffs or industry consolidation but instead from uniquely strong supply-demand fundamentals, Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said. And an ambitious infrastructure package would go a long way toward keeping those fundamentals, and the resulting investment in the domestic steel industry, stronger for longer, he suggested. “We in this country […]
Record-high steel prices result not from Section 232 tariffs or industry consolidation but instead from uniquely strong supply-demand fundamentals, Cleveland-Cliffs’ top executive said. And an ambitious infrastructure package would go a long way toward keeping those fundamentals, and the resulting investment in the domestic steel industry, stronger for longer, he suggested. “We in this country […]
U.S. steel product shipments rose by 1.9% in March after slipping by 1.7% the month prior. The rebound follows February’s decline—the first decrease since bottoming out in April 2020—which was attributed to seasonal factors. Shipments of manufactured durable goods saw a similar blip. March steel shipments posted a 9.9% increase when compared to March 2020, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, according […]
Olympic Steel kept the momentum going at the start of 2021, achieving its most profitable first quarter ever and third best quarter overall in the company’s history. Despite supply/demand challenges, Olympic recorded record net sales of $463 million due to higher metals pricing. Net income was $22 million, a big improvement from $600,000 in Q1 […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) is increasing freight rates by 5-13% because of a shortage of flatbed trucks. The freight surcharge is effective immediately, and the exact amount varies by region, the West Coast slab converter said in a letter to customers Tuesday, May 4. “Transportation costs are rapidly increasing and are expected to continue to […]
U.S. industrial production, manufacturing and durable goods orders continued to show improvement from the coronavirus pandemic downturn through March and April data. The health of the manufacturing economy has a direct bearing on the health of the steel industry. The Industrial Production Index The IP index is a gauge of output from factories, mines and […]
Hot rolled steel prices hit a new eyebrow-raising milestone this week, taking another big jump to an all-time high of $1,500 per ton as supplies continue to fall short of demand. Prices for flat rolled steel products, which have been on a relentless uptrend for the past eight months, rose by a further $60-100 per […]
Hot rolled steel prices hit a new eyebrow-raising milestone this week, taking another big jump to an all-time high of $1,500 per ton as supplies continue to fall short of demand. Prices for flat rolled steel products, which have been on a relentless uptrend for the past eight months, rose by a further $60-100 per […]
Global manufacturing accelerated in April, strengthening to its best reading since April 2010 for the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI. The PMI rose to 55.8 from 55.0 in March. Of the 24 nations covered by the index as of April 23, only the Philippines, Mexico and Myanmar remained in contraction. “The latest PMI surveys show […]
Limited supply and strong demand continued to push steel prices higher throughout April, now the eighth consecutive month in which prices have increased. Hot rolled steel prices increased an average of $25 per ton each week, reaching $1,440 per ton by the end of April, exceeding any historical price by far. The SMU Price Momentum […]
I wish I could start off writing about something other than steel prices. That said, since I joined SMU from Fastmarkets AMM in early January, the news really has been the price. SMU’s average hot-rolled price on Tuesday, May 4, stood at $1,500 per ton ($75 per cwt). That’s a 12.8% increase from $1,330 per ton a month ago […]
The ISM Manufacturing Report on Business came in lower than expected in April. The PMI dipped four points to a reading of 60.7% as both the new orders and production indexes edged downward to 64.3% and 62.5%, respectively. A score above 50, however, indicates expansion, which means demand continued to improve in April. Fabricated metal […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson from CRU’s Steel Monitor Chinese prices have rebounded this week after three consecutive weeks of decline. However, trading in markets outside of China was lower last week as buyers waited for further developments in Chinese prices and this fed through to lower w/w gains in Europe and the U.S. U.S. […]
Foreign hot rolled steel prices remain attractive compared to steel sourced domestically, albeit at a lesser potential discount than 1-2 months ago, as foreign import prices are now increasing at a greater rate than domestic prices. U.S. buyers continue to place orders for foreign material despite long lead times for delivery. Foreign prices still hold potential […]
Hot rolled steel prices have been on the rise since last August and hit a new record of $1,440 per ton this week as nine-week lead times have tightened supplies and made spot tons scarce. Can steel prices possibly continue rising for the rest of the year? Chris Shipp is convinced steel prices have a […]
Hot rolled steel offers ranged as high as $1,500 per ton this week as steel tags just keep rising to levels never seen before. Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week puts the average HR price at a record $1,440 per ton, up another $30 per ton over last week and 35% higher […]
With trading for May not quite finished this week, ferrous scrap prices appeared surprisingly strong, with obsolete grades up about $20/GT and prime grades moving sideways. Steel Market Update sources put the May price for shred in the range of $450-460 per gross ton, busheling at $590-600 per gross ton, and P/S at $440-445 per […]
Metalforming companies are optimistic about business conditions for the next three months, but are concerned about longer lead times for steel and other materials. In the April 2021 Business Conditions Report by the Precision Metalforming Association, 56% of participants expect improvement in economic activity in the next three months compared to 50% in March. Only […]
Ternium remains on track to start up its new hot strip mill in Pesquería, outside of Monterrey, Mexico, on time, according to industry sources. The Latin American steelmaker has indicated that it expects to start up by early June and has already filled its June and July order books, market participants said. Ternium did not […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., the nation’s largest metals distributor and processor, reported record pretax income of $359 million in first-quarter 2021, fueled by the unexpectedly high steel prices and solid demand in most of the markets the company serves. “The combination of a record quarterly gross profit margin, average selling prices well above our […]
U.S. steel product shipments slipped in February by 1.7%, the first decrease since bottoming out in April 2020 when COVID nearly brought the economy to a standstill. Despite the decrease month on month, which may be due to seasonal factors, steel shipments have recovered to pre-pandemic volumes and posted an increase of 5.5% compared to February […]