Flat rolled spot prices are slipping based on an analysis of the Steel Market Update (SMU) and Platts flat rolled steel indexes. We found lower average pricing on hot rolled and cold rolled this week with no movement in galvanized and Galvalume. SMU had plate prices down $20 per ton while Platts kept plate prices […]
With consolidated sales of $4.82 billion which is a 30 percent increase over 1Q 2016 and net earnings of $356.9 million it was a good 1st Quarter 2017 for the company. The company reported that the second quarter earnings should exceed that of 1st Quarter. The overall operating rates at the Nucor steel mills was […]
The debate these days seems to be centered around how much inventory is really out there, how much is incoming (especially from foreign sources) and how much flat rolled will buyers need to buy come this summer? Earlier today I asked a small steel mill if they believed the low coated inventories (1.65 months) according […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) is providing two articles on the MSCI (Metal Service Center Institute) data for March 2017 for United States steel distributors in tonight’s newsletter. The first article is our normal analysis and the second article is a deeper dive analysis normally provided to our Premium level readers. Publisher, John Packard, also provides […]
At first glance this was a good report but that impression diminished on closer examination. Year over year the report was quite good but the number of shipping days increased by three and the normal March month over month shipment surge was very muted. Daily shipments increased by 1.7 percent from February. Since 2009 on […]
We saw mixed results this past week regarding flat rolled steel spot prices in North America. Steel Market Update (SMU) only moved one index (hot rolled +$10) while all of the other products remained the same as the prior week. SteelBenchmarker, which only produces pricing twice per month, reported hot rolled and cold rolled prices […]
Total Canadian steel shipments for all products in March were 421,300 net tons, an increase of 15.2 percent from the month before and an increase of 7.4 percent from March 2017. Total steel inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,165,000 tons, down 0.5 percent from last month and down 2.0 percent from […]
Commerce issued an order on Wednesday to rescind the circumvention inquiry on imported Chinese cut-to-length steel plate containing alloying elements that was initiated on February 10, 2016. The inquiry is to be rescinded as of April 12, 2017. With antidumping and countervailing duties just issued in March 2017 on CTL from China, this notice from […]
Flat rolled prices were essentially unchanged this week with the exception of hot rolled coil which seems to have a few more “legs” in the product due to an improving energy market and limited foreign steel imports. The pressure on HRC right now is coming from the two new players: Big River Steel and Acero […]
February 2017 steel exports totaled 827,559 net tons (750,750 metric tons), up 1.1 percent over January and up 6.2 percent from February 2016. This is the highest export level seen since June 2015 when 885,190 tons were exported out of the US. The total February export figure is above the three month moving average (average […]
Flat rolled steel prices dropped significantly on the SMU Index while Platts had prices much more stable with hot rolled moving lower on Friday by $5 per ton and cold rolled, which had dropped earlier in the week, bouncing back to the same levels reported the week before last. We seem to be in a […]
Licensed data for March was reported by the Steel Import Monitoring System of the US Commerce Department on March 4th. An explanation of the methodology that we at SMU use to analyze the trade data is given at the end of this piece. All volumes in this analysis are reported in short tons. The total […]
Scrap dealers are pointing at the order book at the domestic mills as one of the main reasons why ferrous scrap prices inched back after the domestic mills initially pushed for shred and obsolete grades to be lower by $30 per gross ton. The mills could not get enough dealers to fill their scrap order […]
Flat rolled steel prices are showing themselves as being in a “mature” market having been on the rise for most of the 24 weeks since prices began their climb at the end of October 2016. We peaked out on hot rolled at $655 per ton over the last two weeks. This week we moved off […]
SMU saw the flat rolled steel markets as flat to slightly down while SteelBenchmarker was mixed and Platts had hot rolled and cold rolled prices increasing by $10 per ton. Sounds like a confusing market but, when looking closer at the actual numbers it really isn’t. Benchmark hot rolled coil (HRC) was reported to average […]
Flat rolled steel Price Momentum ended the month of March where it began – indicating higher prices for hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and now plate prices. The steel and manufacturing industries remain firmly entrenched in the Optimistic camp as the SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index hit new highs for the three-month moving average […]
When we began planning for our 2017 SMU Steel Summit Conference I was actually thinking that I would be able to drop the subject of trade and perhaps work on other issues of “more importance” by the time we reached the end of August 2017. Even with the CORE, hot rolled, cold rolled and cut-to-length […]
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced today that a final finding has been made on the dumping of carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length (CTL) plate into the U.S. from eight countries. Commerce affirmed that dumping had occurred regarding imports of CTL from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and imposed duties ranging […]
As we moved around the industry trying to gauge where flat rolled steel prices are this week, we found most buyers as being optimistic but perhaps not as many as two weeks ago. There seems to be a growing question about whether the market has “peaked” or not. Everyone wants to know where prices will […]
Flat rolled steel prices saw modest moves this past week according to Steel Market Update (SMU) and Platts steel indexes. The two strongest products were cold rolled and galvanized each up $15 per ton for the week. Benchmark hot rolled pricing was up $5 per ton on Platts to $650 per ton and $10 per […]
Germany is seeking help from the European Union in its dispute with the United States regarding the alleged dumping of steel into the U.S. market. In a letter to EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel asked the Commission to urge the United States to follow World Trade Organization rules when deciding […]
February service center shipments were almost exactly normal on a month/month basis though there were some bright spots. Daily shipments decreased by 0.6 percent from January. Since 2009 on average, February has decreased by 0.8 percent. Carbon steel shipments were 148,900 tons per day. The number of shipping days decreased from 21 to 20. Intake […]
Flat rolled prices moved higher over the past week based on SMU sources. Even so, there is much discussion as to what direction prices will go from here and we will have more on that subject later this week. We did receive comments from a large service center that our readers might find of interest […]
You will notice a couple of changes in our Comparison Price Indices (CPI) report. The U.S. and Canadian steel mills have adjusted their extras for placing zinc on the surface of steel (galvanized). One of the items referenced in the CPI is .060” G90 which prior to this week was based on a $3.45/cwt ($69 […]
Steel service centers in the United States have seen inventories reach a bottom after years of decline and appear to be slowly bouncing back (see graphic below). This appears to be true for all steel products combined as well as flat rolled, plate, and pipe & tube segments. During the month of February 2017, U.S. […]
Total Canadian steel shipments for all products in February were 365,700 net tons, a decrease of 11.2 percent from the month before and a decrease of 7.8 percent from February 2017. Do keep in mind that total January shipments were at an 18 month high. Total steel inventories at the end of the month stood […]
Nucor Corporation increased its earnings guidance for first quarter 2017 to $1.10-$1.15 per diluted share, more than double its consolidated net earnings of $0.50 per diluted share in fourth quarter and well above analyst consensus of $0.69 EPS. Increased profitability is due to stronger performance of Nucor’s sheet and plate mills. Nucor said in its […]
A quick note about our galvanized index: Effective today we are adjusting the coating extra being used on our .060” G90 galvanized benchmark items from $69 per ton to $78 per ton. We are continuing to use the US Steel extra for guidance. So, the change that you see in our G90 item is a […]
Flat rolled steel prices are reacting to the two $30 per ton price announcements made by the domestic steel mills over the past month. The culprit (or scapegoat depending on your perspective) has been the rapid rise in ferrous scrap prices which are the primary inputs for electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills and is […]
Ryerson Holdings saw a challenging year in 2016 with demand contracting but pricing improving. CEO Edward Lehner noted, “Carbon steel prices recovered from decade lows at the end of 2015, peaked in June of 2016, and deflated again in October of 2016 before starting in upward trajectory that has continued into the first quarter of […]