Yesterday’s SMU Community Chat drew nearly 500 attendees to hear John Anton, associate director of the IHS Markit Pricing and Purchasing Service, give his analysis of the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the U.S. economy and steel market. His presentation prompted nearly two dozen questions from listeners, too many to cover during the Q&A portion of […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
By CRU Analyst Nikki Ni, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Over the past month, Chinese steel demand has accelerated, resulting in lower inventories while output remained at a high level. The ongoing demand recovery has improved the Steel PMI to 45.9 in April, up by 3.7pp m/m. Despite being below the 50-mark, the consecutive m/m improvement […]
Demand for design services at architectural firms plummeted in April, dragging the Architecture Billings Index down to 29.5 and its lowest level in the history of the index, said the American Institute of Architects. The ABI follows March’s record decline of 20.1 points to 33.3. New project inquiries and design contract indices also declined significantly, […]
U.S. Steel, AK Steel (Cleveland-Cliffs), Nucor, NLMK, ArcelorMittal and UPI all announced price increases today on flat rolled. With the exception of AMUSA, all were +$40/ton. AMUSA provided specific minimum base price guidance of $540 ($27.00.cwt) on hot rolled and $740 ($37.00/cwt) on cold rolled and coated products. Some early comments from various steel service […]
Wholesalers of HVAC products have weathered the pandemic surprisingly well so far and are more concerned about construction demand months from now than they are about their near-term prospects. Consider what has happened since April as a result of the market’s response to the virus: Steel mills are operating at just above 50 percent of […]
With the expectation of higher scrap prices coming for the month of June, on top of the steep rise in ferrous scrap this month, the mills’ margins may well be squeezed, which will impact negotiations and pricing over the next few weeks. Most steel buyers anticipate a new round of price increases by late May […]
Active U.S. and Canadian drill rigs declined yet again this past week, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The active drill rigs count is important to the steel industry because it is a leading indicator of oil country tubular goods demand. The number of active U.S. rigs fell by 35 to 339, with oil […]
We had to change the way we calculate the adjusted data, which will also change how we derive our analysis. Previously, we adjusted the data to mirror the exact mix of service centers that responded to the previous month’s survey. We saw a decrease in participation in the March survey, which we can understand given […]
We are in the middle of a black swan event—an event that is expected but unexpected, said Chris Kuehl, managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. “Viral threats are not new and have been frequent in the past few decades, but we don’t know from year to year how they […]
We are in the middle of a black swan event—an event that is expected but unexpected, said Chris Kuehl, managing director of Armada Corporate Intelligence during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. “Viral threats are not new and have been frequent in the past few decades, but we don’t know from year to year how they […]
We had an exceptional SMU Community Chat Webinar with Dr. Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence on Wednesday morning. I am getting nothing but rave reviews of our free webinars, and I encourage you to inform your management and other teammates to register and then tune in at 11 AM ET every Wednesday. Next week […]
We had an exceptional SMU Community Chat Webinar with Dr. Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence on Wednesday morning. I am getting nothing but rave reviews of our free webinars, and I encourage you to inform your management and other teammates to register and then tune in at 11 AM ET every Wednesday. Next week […]
By CRU Principal Consultant Laura Brooks and Senior Consultant Amir Sabet, from CRU’s Crude Steel Market Outlook The market impacts of Covid-19 are unknown in scale, varied and staggered in time across the world. The steel raw materials markets are being affected to a lesser or greater extent depending on the demand-side and supply-side regional […]
Tenaris announced it will reduce the workforce at its Bay City tubular mill by 200 employees. “We have an unexpected combination of events straining U.S. and global markets—a drastic drop in demand caused by the pandemic and an oversupply triggered by the price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. In these stark conditions, we must […]
Note: SMU produced an in-depth Energy Analysis for our Premium members on Monday, May 4, that covered the U.S. rig count information below, as well as oil and gas prices, drilling rigs by state and crude oil stock levels. If you would like to trial our Premium product, contact Paige Mayhair at Paige.Mayhair@crugroup.com. Active U.S. […]
Russel Metals’ first-quarter results, while still profitable, reflect the downturn in the U.S. and Canadian economies and the weakness in the energy sector. Russel generated net income of $11 million on revenues of $815 million in the quarter, compared to income of $34 million on revenues of $1 billion in the 2019 first quarter and […]
In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes in energy supply and demand patterns. Because those changes are still evolving, the outlook is subject to heightened levels of uncertainty. What is certain is that crude oil prices have fallen significantly since the beginning of […]
I am back from my “stay-cation.” Is it just me or is time standing still? I don’t know about your neighborhood, but the landscaping in mine has improved over the past 45 days. I understand there are a lot of home projects ongoing. From a steel executive email to me earlier today, “I told a […]
U.S. Steel remains focused on its acquisition of Big River Steel even as the COVID-19 crisis forces the idling of U.S Steel operations and layoffs of employees. The success of U.S. Steel depends on having the best of integrated and EAF steelmaking, said the company during its first-quarter earnings call. “Make no mistake, our ‘best […]
SMU contributor Tim Stevenson is a partner at Metal Edge Partners, a firm engaged in Risk Management and Strategic Advisory. In this role, he and his firm design and execute risk management strategies for clients along with providing process and analytical support. In Tim’s previous role, he was a Director at Cargill Risk Management, and […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and CME Group Commodities Research Analyst Gregor Spilker The CME Group recently launched a new steel futures contract which follows the U.S. hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil market. The U.S. Midwest Domestic Steel Premium (CRU) Futures is financially settled against the difference between U.S. Midwest hot-dipped galvanized coil (base) steel […]
The U.S. trucking industry could be facing the worst second quarter on record, says FTR after analysis of the latest Trucking Conditions Index. Steep drops in freight volume and declining utilization rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic will create challenging conditions through this year and into next. “Although trucking conditions might prove to be comparable […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson The U.S. plate market has, up to this point, seen prices fall on a slow downward trend. Plate has not been as exposed to the automotive-led manufacturing shutdown, which had allowed prices to only slowly fall by $61 /s.ton since the late January cycle peak. Current prices, though, reflect […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Justin Hughes and Senior Cost Economist Ross Cunningham, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service The international oil markets have been under severe pressure since the outbreak of Covid-19 with the rapid destruction of crude oil and oil product demand. Despite attempts for coordinated supply-side action by major oil producing nations, including […]
John Packard is taking some time off… We hope you are benefiting from our series of SMU Community Chats. The idea is to help us all feel connected by getting together once a week for a short visit with an industry expert—and in a way with each other. It’s a chance to learn something valuable […]
Automakers are facing numerous challenges as they prepare to reopen manufacturing impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Already facing lower sales this year, the pandemic has shut down vehicle production and dealer sales, disrupted supply chains and drained finances for U.S. vehicle manufacturers, with troubling implications for their steel suppliers. Bernard Swiecki, senior automotive analyst at […]
SMU Contributor David Feldstein is president of Rock Trading Advisors (davidfeldstein@rocktradingadvisors.com). In addition to market analysis, RTA provides price risk management not only for ferrous products, but also base metals, energy and interest rates. RTA also trains sales staff and creates the infrastructure necessary for firms to offer their customers fixed pricing on physical sales. […]
By John Packard and Tim Triplett Steel Market Update has been asked: How does the COVID-19 pandemic compare to the Great Recession, in terms of its impact on the steel market? The full effect of the coronavirus crisis on the U.S. economy and steel demand is still to play out, of course, but some comparisons […]
“The SDI team shines in moments of challenge,” said Steel Dynamics President and CEO Mark Millett. First-quarter results support that confidence as the company reported strong earnings for January-March despite the coronavirus pandemic. First-quarter net sales totaled $2.6 billion and net income $187 million, an improvement from Q4 2019 for both metrics. Selling price per ton […]