The U.S. trucking industry is straining to keep up with demand as imports and retail shipping vie with construction and manufacturing for limited truck capacity. Imports fell as the coronavirus took hold last March, but surged to 2.1 million TEU (20-foot equivalent units) in August 2020 as global economies reopened. The August record was subsequently […]
Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito will be the featured speaker at the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. ET. Marabito will bring a service center perspective to the current steel market in a one-on-one discussion with SMU. Topics will include infrastructure, supply chain disruptions stemming from COVID-19, and port congestion. […]
General Motors has restarted production at one U.S. assembly plant but taken additional downtime at a host of others because of a microchip shortage that has plagued the auto industry since late last year. The Detroit-based automaker, the largest in the U.S., will resume production at its Wentzville, Mo., assembly plant on the week of […]
Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito will be the featured speaker at the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. ET. Marabito will bring a service center perspective to the current steel market in a one-on-one discussion with SMU. Topics will include infrastructure, supply chain disruptions stemming from COVID-19, and port congestion. […]
Zekelman Industries has completed the exterior construction of its new rolling mill in Blytheville, Ark. The 515,000-square-foot facility, located next to Zekelman’s Atlas Tube, will be the largest continuous electric resistance welding (ERW) mill in the world and is expected to be operational by September 2021. The mill will be able to roll HSS from […]
Steel prices cannot rise indefinitely without hitting a ceiling at which they begin to erode demand. But respondents to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week report no signs of weakening demand so far. It appears there’s still some headroom for price increases, as most flat rolled and plate tags moved up another $10-25 per ton. […]
U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pa., has been hit by an unplanned outage stemming from a burst water main, according to sources familiar with the matter. Crews have been working to repair the issue at the Pittsburgh-area steel mill since approximately 2:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, April 6, they said. U.S. Steel, which is […]
U.S. Steel’s Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, Pa., has been hit by an unplanned outage stemming from a burst water main, according to sources familiar with the matter. Crews have been working to repair the issue at the Pittsburgh-area steel mill since approximately 2:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, April 6, they said. U.S. Steel, which is […]
For the seventh consecutive month, steel prices rose throughout March, fueled by a continuation of strong demand and limited supply. Hot rolled steel prices averaged $1,300 per ton by the middle of the month, far exceeding any historical price record, and reached $1,330 by the last week of March. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator has […]
Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito will be the featured speaker at the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. ET. Marabito will bring a service center perspective to the current steel market in a one-on-one discussion with SMU. (Translation: This will not be death by PowerPoint.) Topics will include infrastructure, supply […]
The temptation to purchase foreign hot rolled over domestic steel remains high, as more U.S. buyers place orders for foreign material despite long lead times for delivery. Since mid-March, foreign steel prices have begun to increase at a greater rate compared to domestic prices, yet foreign prices still hold potential discounts of 10-24%, according to […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled Hot rolled futures markets have taken a pause from the high velocity upward price moves of last month and the […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled Hot rolled futures markets have taken a pause from the high velocity upward price moves of last month and the […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC), scrap and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Hot Rolled Liquidation has led to some near-term retracement of hot rolled futures prices after a very long runup. The first week […]
Olympic Steel CEO Rick Marabito will be the featured speaker at the next SMU Community Chat on Wednesday, April 14, at 11 a.m. ET. Marabito will bring a service center perspective to the current steel market in a one-on-one discussion with SMU. (Translation: This will not be death by PowerPoint.) Topics will include infrastructure, supply […]
Rising costs and supply-chain disruptions remained headwinds for manufacturers across the globe in March. Despite the challenges, the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI reached a 10-year high of 55.0. Manufacturing output expanded at the strongest rate in a decade as demand strengthened domestically and in international trade. Growth was reported in 23 of 27 nations […]
Imports of flat-rolled steel jumped to their highest levels in nearly two years in March on increased shipments of coated products. The upswing included not only hot-dipped galvanized steel but also “other” metallic coated products, a category that includes material such as Galvalume. All told, the U.S. was licensed to import 800,789 metric tonnes of […]
Imports of flat-rolled steel jumped to their highest levels in nearly two years in March on increased shipments of coated products. The upswing included not only hot-dipped galvanized steel but also “other” metallic coated products, a category that includes material such as Galvalume. All told, the U.S. was licensed to import 800,789 metric tonnes of […]
U.S. manufacturing is on a solid path to recovery, according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management. The March 2021 Manufacturing ISM Report on Business posted a PMI of 64.7, a gain of 3.9 points from February. Expanding demand resulted in new orders, production and employment growing at a faster rate in […]
Buyers continue to express frustration over the hugely extended lead times for delivery of steel from the mills. One respondent to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week described lead times as “late, late and late. That goes for imports, too.” Added another: “Lead time is not the issue. If they deliver 2-6 weeks late, the […]
Steel Market Update’s lead times data has seen only small changes from week to week since early March. Average lead times for hot rolled steel remain highly extended at just under nine weeks, while deliveries of cold rolled and coated products now take nearly 11 weeks. Lead times are an indicator of steel demand—the longer the […]
Steel Market Update’s latest lead times data shows a significant increase in delivery times for spot orders of flat rolled and plate from the mills. The average lead time for hot rolled is now nearly 10 weeks and coated products around 12 weeks—an increase of a week or more from the last survey in mid-April. […]
It’s hard to believe that lead times could get much longer, but that appears to be the case. Steel Market Update’s latest survey data shows that flat rolled delivery times have stretched by an additional one to two weeks over the past month. Lead times are an indicator of steel demand—the longer the average lead […]
It’s hard to believe that lead times could get much longer, but that appears to be the case. Steel Market Update’s latest survey data shows that flat rolled delivery times have stretched by an additional one to two weeks over the past month. Lead times are an indicator of steel demand—the longer the average lead […]
The Chicago Business Barometer reached its highest level since July 2018, soaring to 66.3 in March from 59.5 in February, reports MNI indicators. For the first quarter of 2021, the index gained 4.4 points for a reading of 63.2, the best result since Q3 2018. The production index soared 10.1 points to 72.0 in March […]
Steel Market Update published some prices for galvanized and Galvalume steel yesterday that had not been updated. See below for the most current SMU pricing data on those products. Galvanized Coil: SMU price range is $1,480-$1,560 per net ton ($74.00-$78.00/cwt) with an average of $1,520 per ton ($76.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both […]
Market prices continue to rise, albeit not as quickly as what we were seeing a few weeks back. We cannot be sure as to when market prices will hit their peak. Market momentum is clearly on the side of the steel mills, lead times continue to be extended well beyond normal, and more orders are […]
Mills and service centers report historic profitability, thanks to steel prices that continue to set new records every month. Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week puts the current price for hot rolled coil at $1,330 per ton, fully triple the pandemic-induced trough of $440 per ton in August last year. That amazing […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]
In the famous words of Isaac Newton, “what goes up must come down.” While he was not referring to steel prices per se, the sentiment still holds true. Steel tags can’t stay at record highs indefinitely. Supply will eventually catch up with demand. What happens then? Will prices see a sharp correction or a gradual […]