Tag: Pig Iron

Prices of most steelmaking raw materials have moved lower over the last 30 days, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis.

The ferrous scrap market experienced a sharp decline for March shipments. Prime scrap fell $60-70 per gross ton (gt) while shredded and other obsolete grades declined $40-50/gt. It seems these prices were accepted in the trade by dealers across the continent.

The March outlook for most ferrous products is trending down faster than most participants thought as recently as a week ago.

The CRUmpi declined by 1.7% month over month (m/m) to 325.2 in February, compared to a 4.3% m/m increase in February 2023.

The pig iron market has risen in recent months from the high $390s per metric ton (mt) last fall to $490/mt for Brazilian material and a bit more for Ukrainian product - for an overall average of $495/mt CFR.

The state of the US scrap market is not very well understood, according to the dealer trade. It seems steelmakers in several regions are still looking to buy scrap, several sources told SMU.

Pig iron prices rose month over month (MoM) in all major regions aside from Europe on improved buying. Demand in the US remains robust while market participants report that availability of Brazilian material increased after tightening a month prior. Meanwhile, Ukrainian export capacity increased due to greater access to temporary sea corridors.

I expected that we’d start off January with prime scrap prices modestly up if for no other reason than industrial activity typically slows down over the holidays. And mills’ appetite for scrap typically increases in anticipation of stronger Q1 order activity.

A Detroit-area mill entered the scrap market on Friday afternoon with the following offers: The Chicago area followed suit: Mills in the Great Lakes region sensed there was ample supply of most grades. Also, they all bought heavily last month and so had sufficient inventories to make this move, market participants said. Still, the move surprised […]

As we look back at the scrap market for 2023, it basically followed its normal seasonal pattern. Most of the disruptive geopolitical events that riled ferrous raw materials occurred in 2022. So, with those things out of the way—or settling down at least for now—2023 resumed its normal pattern.

Pig iron prices rose month over month (MoM) for all major regions, driven by rising scrap prices.

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index has moved into growth territory, but barely, after recovering slightly from our reading in late November, according to our latest survey data.

SMU’s Community Chat on Wednesday, Dec. 13, featured Bank of America SVP Ira Kreft.

Sheet prices increased again this week on the heels of higher costs for scrap, pig iron, and iron ore.

The prices for all grades of pig iron have dramatically risen since SMU’s last report from Nov. 18.

A large Detroit-area scrap buyer entered the market on Wednesday at significantly higher prices than a month earlier.

Prices of steelmaking raw materials are largely up over the over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis.

The importation of basic pig iron has allowed EAF steelmakers to implement thin-slab casting technology to make drawing-quality flat-rolled sheet over the last 30 years.

You could make a case that Nov. 1 was April Fool’s Day for steel – or at least for the widespread rumor that Cliffs would announce a $10-billion deal for U.S. Steel on that date. I’m not going to endorse any precise date or price tag. But I’d be surprised if a deal – or […]

U.S. Steel’s third-quarter earnings call with analysts on Friday, Oct. 27, was packed full of insight into the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s current state of affairs.

Prices for ore-based metallics were mixed month-on-month (MoM) as lower finished steel production weighs on pig iron demand.

The pig iron trade is an important element to the US steel and foundry industry.

Some of the movements in scrap and pig iron pricing over the past 18-24 months have been quite drastic.

U.S. Steel expects earnings to drop in the third quarter vs. the prior quarter and the same period a year earlier as the company adjusts production because of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union strike.

Mixed trends were observed in prices of ore-based metallics as demand stayed subdued in Europe and the US. Buying activity had been limited in the US due to several upcoming mill outages and ahead of the UAW strike. However, prices have found stability despite declines in prices of prime grades of scrap. In the CIS, […]

The more of you I talk to, the more the question seems to be not whether the United Auto Workers (UAW) will strike later this week but instead for how long. You’re also asking whether the UAW will target one union-represented automaker or whether it might take the unprecedented step of walking out at Ford, […]

Leading voices in US the scrap industry discussed the current outlook and future challenges at Steel Summit 2023’s panel on Scrap and Metallics: Navigating the Boom in EAF Sheet Production.

I planned to write this column about some of the big themes we’ll be discussing at Steel Summit. That plan changed when U.S. Steel announced on Sunday afternoon that it was conducting a formal review of a sale of all or part of the company after receiving multiple unsolicited offers. It changed yet again when Cleveland-Cliffs said its offer for U.S. Steel had been rejected.

While Canadian integrated steelmaker Stelco remains committed to decarbonization its steelmaking operations, it has no plans to convert to electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking, nor to buy an EAF steelmaker anytime soon.

There is a lot going on at SMU right now. We’re going to be rolling out a new website over the next few days. We’ve also got more than 1,200 people registered to attend Steel Summit this year, putting us on pace to potentially break last year’s attendance record of nearly 1,300. The event is […]