Mill lead times on flat rolled steel have extended in the past two weeks to levels not seen since the spring of 2017, according to the latest data from Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire. The average lead time for hot roll has hit four and a half weeks, while lead times for cold roll, […]
The mills are clearly trying to collect the price increases they announced on flat roll in December and January, but they appear to be experiencing only some success. About 40 percent of steel buyers responding to the latest Steel Market Update market trends questionnaire say they have found their mill suppliers unwilling to negotiate on […]
Demand is good heading into 2018, mill prices are on the upswing and trade cases promise to keep low-priced imports at bay. So why aren’t distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market happier? Members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) reported that market conditions remain highly competitive despite price […]
The January import licenses are catching what one domestic mill callls, “Taiwanese January onslaught on Galvalume” as it trends toward 100,000+ net tons for the month (from less than 40,000 tons in December). This is what the mill had to say about pricing in general: “We keep moving our HR and CR up. Coated is […]
Steel plate prices are rising as demand tightens and lead times lengthen. On Thursday of this past week, Steel Market Update published an article containing comments from steel buyers in both flat rolled and plate steel products. One comment sparked a discussion between one of the domestic steel mills and SMU (and indirectly with the […]
As we collected hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate prices earlier this week, we asked a number of questions trying to get reactions from the steel buyers. We asked how high steel prices could go (using hot rolled as the benchmark) and what were the key drivers affecting prices right now. Here are […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic (USA) hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and […]
Nucor led the charge of the East Coast flat rolled steel mills in an effort to keep prices moving higher. On Wednesday, Nucor, followed by U.S. Steel, put out announcements advising customers of their intention to raise spot flat rolled prices by $40 per ton. Soon after, NLMK USA and AK Steel followed Nucor’s lead […]
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel Since the end of last week, which was very quiet due to year end, the Futures markets have been relatively muted […]
Mill lead times on flat rolled steel extended a bit last month, but defied expectations and returned to prior levels despite mill price hikes in December and January, according to the latest data from Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire. Lead time for hot roll remains slightly over four weeks, for cold roll slightly over […]
Earlier today, Steel Market Update provided our “Flash Report” on flat rolled steel service center inventories to those distributors who are actively providing months of supply data to SMU. Our first Flash Report prompted three comments from the group that we would like to share with our readers: Service Center One: “This market is the […]
AK Steel and NLMK USA raised spot market base prices on all carbon flat-rolled steel prices by $40 per ton today, matching similar $40 hikes on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products yesterday by Nucor and U.S. Steel. All four companies said the increase is effective immediately on new orders and will not […]
The J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI ended 2017 near a seven-year high as economies improved and new orders and output expanded. The PMI, produced by J.P. Morgan and IHS Markit, rose to 54.5 in December from 54.1 in November, expanding for the 22nd month. Intermediate goods saw the greatest rate of growth in December followed […]
Flat rolled steel prices barely budged over the past couple of weeks as steel buyers and sellers took a break for the Holidays culminating in the calendar flipping over to 2018. When we asked one commercial manager of a steel mill to comment about pricing earlier today we were told, “Gotta let the market percolate […]
After treading water through the Christmas and New Year Holidays, and then pushed by the most recent price increase announcements (+$40 on flat rolled and +$50 on plate), we are seeing steel prices moving higher by an average of $10 to $20 per ton. The expectation by most steel buyers (not all) is for higher […]
Flat rolled steel prices moved higher over the past week. Hot rolled offers are reaching (or exceeding) $700 per ton, while cold rolled and coated offers are moving into the low to mid $800s (base pricing, before extras). Steel buyers seemed resigned to paying higher numbers with many waiting to see what will happen with […]
The fire at AK Steel helped some buyers to accept the price levels being suggested by the domestic mills. Steel Market Update heard from a number of sources that offer prices were in many cases close to the levels suggested by ArcelorMittal USA in their most recent price announcement: $720 per ton hot rolled ($36.00/cwt) […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic (USA) hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and […]
The year 2017 proved a bit “odd” as the threat of political action against foreign steel worked against the domestic steel mills. Early in the year, newly crowned President Trump authorized the U.S. Department of Commerce, led by former steel magnate Wilbur Ross, to investigate if the steel industry is essential to the U.S. for […]
Mill lead times have inched up slightly in the past two weeks following price hikes announced by the major mills earlier this month, according to the latest data from Steel Market Update’s flat roll market questionnaire. One of the key indicators tracked by SMU, lead times reflect the activity at the mills and the order […]
Buyers of flat rolled steel report that more mills are holding the line on pricing following the price increases announced earlier this month. Mill order books are firm and there’s no negotiating for a better price, according to 28 percent of respondents to SMU’s latest steel market questionnaire. About 22 percent say they still find […]
Eight out of 10 respondents to this week’s SMU market trends questionnaire believe the fundamentals are pointing toward higher steel prices in the first quarter. As one service center executive commented, “it’s only a question of how high and for how long.” But so far, the price increases announced by the major mills this month […]
Both flat rolled and plate steel distributors saw only a very modest drop in inventories as of the end of July. Inventories continue to be “balanced” at 2.7 months of supply on flat rolled and 2.1 months of supply on plate, according to Steel Market Update’s proprietary inventory data. Flat Rolled Spread Tightens Although our […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic (USA) hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and […]
Flat rolled steel prices jumped this week as buyers and sellers of steel react to the latest round of price increase announcements. Last week, there was a $50 per ton increase announced on steel plate and then later in the week the sheet mills announced a $30 per ton price increase on hot rolled, cold […]
Steel Market Update recently adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to “Higher” as, in our opinion, steel buyers should anticipate flat rolled steel prices to move up over the next 30 to 60 days. During last week’s analysis of the flat rolled steel market, 78 percent of the respondents agreed with SMU, sensing that pricing momentum […]
Domestic mills are in the driver’s seat and steel prices have nowhere to go but up, agreed most respondents to Steel Market Update’s flat roll market trends questionnaire this week. SMU contacts steel buyers twice each month to monitor their views on market conditions. Asked for their opinion on the current direction of steel prices, […]
In separate notices to customers today, SSAB Americas, Nucor and ArcelorMittal USA announced their intentions to raise steel plate transaction prices by $50 per ton. This new announcement means the domestic plate producers have raised prices by $130 per ton ($6.50/cwt) over the past 30 days. SSAB Americas said it is raising transaction prices by […]
Mill lead times have seen little change in the past month, according to the latest data from Steel Market Update’s flat roll market questionnaire, despite the price hikes announced by the mills two weeks ago. One of the key indicators tracked by SMU, lead times reflect the activity at the mills and the order levels […]
Steel Market Update adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Higher from Neutral earlier today. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will rise over the next 30 to 60 days. We last adjusted Momentum on Oct. 18, 2017, when we moved from “Lower” to “Neutral.” We are hearing from buyers and sellers of […]