Final October imports were reported to be 3,148,243 net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data released earlier this week. Total October imports were up 2.0 percent over September, and up 16.0 percent compared to levels one year ago. The Commerce Department also released license data this week that now suggests foreign steel imports […]
Rolled steel imports into the United States declined by 12.7 percent in the three-month period from September-November, compared with the prior three months, June-August. Sheet products declined by 11.4 percent on the same basis, according to weekly licensed import tonnages reported by of the U.S. Department of Commerce on Dec. 5. The data is reported […]
Flat rolled steel prices are firming and heading higher. SMU found hot rolled prices over the past week remaining the same as the week before. All of the other flat rolled products saw their averages move higher. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $590-$640 per ton […]
We had yet another week of “mixed” spot pricing in flat rolled and plate products, according to the Steel Market Update (SMU), Platts and SteelBenchmarker steel price indexes. Benchmark hot rolled was down for the week, according to the SMU and Platts steel price indexes. SMU saw the HRC price average as $615 per ton, […]
Except for a few flat rolled steel mills that have not yet completely filled their December order books, most steel producers are holding firm on steel pricing in anticipation of good demand in the first quarter. The result is we are seeing two distinct pricing markets – those who have December tons and are willing […]
Steel Market Update canvassed a large number of flat rolled and plate steel buyers during the course of the last 24 hours. The goal was to better understand where spot prices were being offered (and by whom) and if there were any differences in momentum or the negotiation positions of the various steel mills. We […]
Flat rolled steel prices were once again “mixed” with hot rolled prices higher, cold rolled lower (on SMU), galvanized lower, Galvalume no change and plate higher this past week compared to the previous week. Both Platts and Steel Market Update (SMU) saw the benchmark hot rolled price average as higher this past week. The spread […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices are all over the place this week. We are seeing a distinct difference in pricing from those mills who still have November and December tonnage compared to those whose lead times are into January and beyond. Hot roll appears to be the strongest product with virtually all of our […]
Service center shipments in October exceeded expectations, led by long products and plate, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Metals Service Center Institute data. Daily shipments in October were 1.9 percent higher than in September. On average since 2009, October has decreased by 1.9 percent, therefore these latest numbers were better than the historical […]
Twice per month, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducts an analysis of the flat rolled steel market and the trends that affect pricing, demand, etc. Each analysis is conducted via an email invitation to complete a questionnaire. SMU invites approximately 650 individuals who are active participants in the manufacturing, distribution, toll processing, trading and steel mill […]
Were you surprised by the price increases announced this week by the major mills? If you were, don’t feel bad. You were among the majority of steel buyers who could foresee no clear direction for steel prices. On Monday, Steel Market Update sent its market trends questionnaire to 650 steel buyers asking, among other questions, […]
Flat rolled steel prices are still mixed, according to the various steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update. SteelBenchmarker produced prices this past week and saw all items as moving higher. Platts, on the other hand, had a modest increase in hot rolled and a fairly significant decrease in cold rolled while plate remained the […]
Over the past few days, all of the domestic plate mills have announced a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) price increase on plate products. We have seen announcements out of the Nucor Plate Group, ArcelorMittal USA commercial plate group, Evraz and SSAB. SSAB was the last to announce with their letter dated Nov. 16, 2017. In […]
The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) released service center shipment and inventories data earlier this week. According to the MSCI data, flat rolled inventories now average 2.1 months of supply based on the 104,600 tons per day shipment rate reported for the month of October. October 2017 shipments were 9.6 percent better than one year […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in October totaled 391,700 net tons, up 9.8 percent from the previous month, and also up 9.8 percent from October 2016, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). On a daily basis, total shipments were 18,700 tons per day in October (a 21-day month), up from 17,800 tons per […]
Nucor became the first sheet mill to step out and attempt to nudge hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel prices higher. This afternoon (Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017) the Nucor Sheet Group announced a new $30 per ton ($1.50/cwt) price increase to be “effective immediately.” The Nucor price increase follows a plate and hot rolled […]
Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this past week. Benchmark hot rolled continues to be one of the better performing of the group. Our HRC average was up $5 per ton this week. Cold rolled was also up, galvanized was sideways and Galvalume dropped $30 per ton. Plate prices on a delivered basis were up […]
As I move around the flat rolled steel industry, communicating with manufacturing companies, service centers, traders and steel mills, I am receiving mixed messages about the market. A good example is the HARDI steel committee conference call that was held earlier today. HARDI wholesalers, the companies who supply the HVAC mechanical contractors in the building […]
Total rolled steel imports declined by 14.0 percent in the three months through October, compared to the three months through July. Sheet products were down by 12.6 percent on the same basis, based on final license data for October reported by of the U.S. Commerce Department on Nov. 7. The data is reported within the […]
This Steel Market Update analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled steel products by district of entry and source country through September 2017. We believe that misinformation (or a lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis of tonnage by district of […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been working on developing and then expanding a new steel service center flat rolled steel inventories analysis. We are providing a sample of the analysis, which will be available initially to Premium level customers, as well as those service centers that participate by providing data to Steel Market Update. If […]
Flat rolled prices were mixed this past week with benchmark hot rolled dropping some of its recent gains. The spread between Steel Market Update (SMU) and Platts on cold rolled shrunk compared to what we reported one week ago. Coated products were mixed with galvanized steel remaining at prior-week levels and Galvalume increasing by $10 […]
U.S. steel exports in September totaled 903,388 net tons (819,541 metric tons), down 1.5 percent over August, but up 13.6 percent from September 2016. Total exports have averaged around 885,000 tons over the last few months after reaching a 2.5-year high in May (1,006,087 tons). The total September export figure is above both the three-month […]
There was a surge in foreign steel imports during calendar year 2014. That high rate continued into the first half of 2015 at which time the domestic steel mills filed antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cases on CORE (coated steels), cold rolled and hot rolled steels. The U.S. Department of Commerce investigation found most […]
Foreign steel imports for the month of October 2017 were just over three million net tons, based on the license data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) earlier this week. The 3,110,002 net tons were essentially unchanged from the Final Census Data released for the month of September when the U.S. imported 3,086,196 […]
Olympic Steel posted significantly improved results for third-quarter 2017. Demand is strong across all three business segments at Olympic, but is expected to soften due to seasonality and the holidays. “Looking ahead, we are encouraged by both the positive demand trends our customers are projecting for 2018 and by the market’s outlook for improved metal […]
Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this week. There was no clear-cut direction being set, although the expectation is for prices to rise once lead times go into January. For that matter, we did hear from some steel buyers who placed December HRC orders for $600 per ton and at the same time placed January […]
A couple of weeks ago, ArcelorMittal USA announced price increases taking flat rolled steel base prices on hot rolled to $625 per ton and $41.25/cwt base on cold rolled and galvanized. We have yet to see spot prices out of the domestic steel mills reach the prices suggested by AMUSA. The rest of the industry […]
On Monday, SSAB sent a letter to customers advising of the company’s intention to raise spot transaction prices by a minimum of $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) effective immediately. The increase covers all “…As-Rolled Mill Plate, Cut-to-Length Plate >72”, Hot Rolled Coils >72”, as well as Normalized and Quenched & Tempered Plate.” SSAB also advised that […]
On Monday, SSAB sent a letter to customers advising of the company’s intention to raise spot transaction prices by a minimum of $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) effective immediately. The increase covers all “…As-Rolled Mill Plate, Cut-to-Length Plate >72”, Hot Rolled Coils >72”, as well as Normalized and Quenched & Tempered Plate.” SSAB also advised that […]