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 […]
I lost a million-dollar bet to my grandson the other day. Turns out I can’t touch my nose with my big toe like he can. I paid him promptly, per my terms of our wager—one dollar a year for a million years. Plus a cookie as interest. He seemed satisfied. He’s three. During its earnings […]
I want to write a few words today about Section 232. Not for or against it. Just some reflections on a trade action that’s been with us for a lot longer than I expected. The catalyst for that reflection was a conference call the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington policy think tank, held earlier this […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) has closed its June flat rolled order book just a week after opening it. “We want to thank you for your continued support during these difficult times. … We will contact you when we open the flat rolled order book for July,” CSI said in a letter to customers dated Wednesday, […]
Buyers polled by Steel Market Update this week reported little change in the tight market conditions. Mills have few spot tons to offer, and those that are made available get snapped up immediately. Most of the limited spot buys on hot roll are transacting at around $1,300 per ton, but offers reportedly have ranged up […]
Buyers polled by Steel Market Update this week reported little change in the tight market conditions. Mills have few spot tons to offer, and those that are made available get snapped up immediately. Most of the limited spot buys on hot roll are transacting at around $1,300 per ton, but offers reportedly have ranged up […]
Lead times for steel and other materials continued to lengthen in March, said 60% of metalforming firms in the latest Precision Metalforming Association Business Conditions Report. Lead times have lengthened each month since September 2020 when 16% of PMA members reported longer lead times. “Metalforming manufacturers are seeing an uptick in business, but their ability […]
Steel product shipments continued to improve through January this year, maintaining a month-on-month growth trend since bottoming in April 2020 when COVID shook the economy. Steel shipments have recovered to pre-pandemic volumes and posted an increase of 2.7% compared to January 2020 levels, according to Census Bureau data on inventories, shipments and new orders for total […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from the […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate steel markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The strength and longevity of the current uptrend in steel prices has surprised many market participants, and mill maintenance outages are expected to keep lead times extended. The latest lead time survey on March 15-17 from Steel Market Update, which is part of […]
Mill lead times, which means the amount of time it takes to receive (or be promised delivery) for a new order placed today, continue to be highly extended. We share our lead time by product graphic every couple of weeks after we conduct our latest market analysis. We also look at lead times from a […]
Mill lead times, which means the amount of time it takes to receive (or be promised delivery) for a new order placed today, continue to be highly extended. We share our lead time by product graphic every couple of weeks after we conduct our latest market analysis. We also look at lead times from a […]
The temptation to purchase hot rolled steel imports over steel produced domestically continues to grow, as more U.S. buyers place orders for foreign material despite long lead times for delivery. As domestic prices soar higher, foreign prices hold potential discounts of 11% to 27%, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign versus domestic hot rolled […]
The Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users (CAMMU) is appealing to the Department of Commerce (DOC) to terminate Section 232 tariffs and quotas on imported steel and aluminum, in a followup to similar demands directed at the Biden administration on Feb. 10. In a March 15 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, CAMMU–which claims to represent […]
Hyundai Steel has halted output on some production lines and will be approximately 1.5 months late with some shipments because of a “guerrilla strike,” according to a letter to U.S. customers. “Since the strike is still ongoing and the effect of the production suspension(s) are yet to be calculated, we cannot designate the accurate quantity […]
Lead times for spot orders of most steel products appear to have leveled off a bit in the past two weeks, based on Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market. All flat rolled and plate products registered small declines except for Galvalume, which was the only one to see an increase in delivery times […]
Foreign or domestic? “More risk buying domestic….” I had some interesting conversations with steel buyers today as I have been trying to gauge the strength of domestic price support, and what will be the catalyst that will turn the tide. One large manufacturing steel buyer with operations around the world told me, “The prices will […]
Foreign or domestic? “More risk buying domestic….” I had some interesting conversations with steel buyers today as I have been trying to gauge the strength of domestic steel price support, and what will be the catalyst that will turn the tide. One large manufacturing steel buyer with operations around the world told me, “The prices […]
Hot rolled steel prices reached another eyebrow-raising milestone this week, hitting an average of $1,300 per ton ($65/cwt), which is an all-time record even adjusting for inflation from the previous high of $1,070 per ton recorded by Steel Market Update in 2008. Flat rolled prices rose by an additional $10-30 per ton as the market […]
Hot rolled steel prices reached another eyebrow-raising milestone this week, hitting an average of $1,300 per ton ($65/cwt), which is an all-time record even adjusting for inflation from the previous high of $1,070 per ton recorded by Steel Market Update in 2008. Flat rolled prices rose by an additional $10-30 per ton as the market […]
FOB mills prices aren’t the only thing on the rise – so too are service center resale prices, import tags and ocean freight rates. Service centers are selling amongst each other for nearly $1,400 per ton ($70/cwt), and certain master distributors are charging that much if not more for hot band, market participants said. That’s […]
By CRU Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Details of China’s Tangshan emission control policy that circulated in the last week have provided a further boost to Chinese steel prices but have weighed on prices for iron ore. The high cost of freight is still reducing the competitiveness of sheet imports in […]
By CRU Analyst Dave Thewlis, from CRU’s Steel Long Products Monitor Prices among all types of long products rose again in April, the most challenged of which remains wire rod. February’s winter storms, which were extreme enough to cause a 2.2% m/m decline in U.S. industrial production, made a difficult situation worse for wire rod […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The current global sheet market cycle is one which continues to reflect a strong demand rebound from the lows associated with various lockdowns in 2020 H1. It seems that in one market after the other, sheet production has failed to catch up with […]