December steel exports totaled 726,847 net tons (659,385 metric tons), down 0.3 percent over November but up 0.2 percent from December 2015. This is the lowest export level seen since December 2015 when 658,362 tons were exported. Total December figures are below the thee month moving average (average of October, November, and December 2016 figures) […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce provided updated license and census data which indicates foreign steel imports are trending lower. December imports of foreign steel are totaling 2,685,641 tons while January is trending toward 2.7 million tons based on license data through the end of the month. Items that are trending lower are: Semi-finished steels of […]
Flat rolled steel prices may have peaked based on the results of the two steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update who reported flat rolled steel prices this past week. Platts reported prices as remaining the same on all flat rolled products but up $40 per ton on plate. Steel Market Update (SMU) collected data […]
US Steel said it is prepared to provide steel for the pipeline projects recently approved by the Trump administration. “The American manufacturing base on steel is fully prepared to supply what is needed for the pipelines and for the general infrastructure projects that are certainly going to come,” US Steel CEO Mario told CNBC in […]
Nucor Corporation plans to help the new administration bring manufacturing back to America. It is off to a good start by posting solid earnings results for fourth quarter 2016. Nucor announced consolidated net earnings of $159.6 million for fourth quarter 2016 compared to $305.4 million in third quarter and a loss of $187.5 million a […]
December service center daily shipments declined by 13.1 percent from November, a non event because since 2009 on average December has declined by 13.2 percent. Carbon steel shipments decreased by 369,100 tons, the number of shipping days was unchanged at 21, and tons per day (t/d) shipments decreased by 17,600 tons. Inventories at 6,754,200 tons […]
Flat rolled steel prices were essentially unchanged on the Platts and SMU indexes while SteelBenchmarker, which only produces their indices twice per month, played catch up. The three steel indexes agreed that benchmark hot rolled coil was averaging $630 per ton ($629 was the average of the three indexes) or $31.50/cwt. Cold rolled was unchanged […]
SMU Price Momentum Indicator has been pointing to Higher flat rolled steel prices since late October (12 weeks). Based on our analysis of last week’s steel market trends survey as well as direct contact with buyers today, SMU Price Momentum has not changed and our expectation is for prices to move higher over the next […]
Are cracks starting to develop in the floor of steel prices? Are any cracks a harbinger to a reversal of flat rolled steel prices? It is too early to tell. However, buyers and sellers of steel need to be aware of that the markets may be in the early stage of change. Since the beginning […]
Only two of the steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update reported prices this past week (SteelBenchmarker only reports twice per month). We saw mixed results with Platts taking their hot rolled average to $630 per ton (up $20) while our SMU HRC index average was up $5 per ton to $625 per ton. Platts […]
On January 18, 2017, the Department of Commerce announced its final affirmative determinations in the antidumping and countervailing investigations of imports of cut-to-length steel plate from China. The China-wide rate for antidumping was established at 68.27 percent. The China-wide entity was assigned duties based on adverse facts for failure to cooperate with the investigation. The final subsidy […]
The Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) released shipment and inventories data for the month of December as well as the full calendar year 2016. Total steel products, carbon flat rolled, steel plate and pipe and tube saw shipments drop and inventories rise during the month of December compared to the prior year. The U.S. steel […]
Total Canadian steel shipments for all products in December were 289,900 net tons, a decrease of 27.2 percent from the month before but an increase of 6.2 percent from December 2015. Total steel inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,170,600 tons, up 7.6 percent from last month and up 0.4 percent from […]
The Chinese represent only 7 percent of the total plate imports into the United States. The CTL plate dumping/CVD suits will now focus on the countries that represented 66 percent of the plate imports: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. The Final Determination on these countries is due on March 30th. The […]
Flat rolled steel and plate prices continued their march higher this past week based on the steel price indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Benchmark hot rolled coil (HRC) which is the base thickness prior to extras being added, is working its way toward the latest “minimums” set out by ArcelorMittal in their recent price […]
November steel exports totaled 729,391 net tons (661,693 metric tons), down 4.8 percent over October but up 2.4 percent from November 2015. This is the lowest export level seen since December 2015 when 658,362 tons were exported. Total November figures are below the thee month moving average (average of September, October, and November 2016 figures) […]
As expected, the domestic steel mills began 2017 right where they left off. Another $30-$40 per ton of price increases on top of the $140 per ton of increases leveled on their spot customers since late October through the end of 2016. The key from here is if business, both at the steel mills, as […]
There was very little movement in flat rolled steel prices according to the Platts and Steel Market Update steel indexes. This is expected to change as we move into the second week of the New Year as AK Steel announced a new $40 per ton price increase on Friday. Benchmark hot rolled is being reported […]
The U.S. International Trade Commission made its final affirmative determination that the U.S. steel industry was materially injured by imports of cut-to length steel plate from Brazil, South Africa, and Turkey. On January 6, 2017, the USITC determined that the products were sold at less than fair value in the U.S. but did not find […]
The steel buyers and sellers of steel who responded to our first flat rolled steel market trends survey of the New Year foretold the move by AK Steel to raise flat rolled steel prices late on Friday. Eighty-one percent of the respondents reported that they were expecting another flat rolled steel price increase (the 5th […]
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported the Final Census numbers for November foreign steel imports into the United States. November steel imports totaled 2,805,763 net tons. This was approximately 100,000 tons higher than October. When looking at the individual items it appears the difference between the two months can be found in the […]
Licensed data for December was reported by the Steel Import Monitoring System of the US Commerce Department on January 3rd. An explanation of the methodology that use at SMU to analyze the trade data is given at the end of this piece. All volumes in this analysis are reported in short tons. In December, on […]
When we ended 2015 benchmark hot rolled base prices averaged $375 per ton ($18.75/cwt), cold rolled base average was $515 per ton ($25.75/cwt) and the spread between HRC and CRC base prices was $140 per ton ($7.00/cwt). Galvanized base prices averaged $510 per ton ($25.50/cwt) and the spread between HRC base and that of Galvanized […]
We ended 2016 with a semblance of agreement as to where flat rolled steel prices stood. The table below is for last week and does not include price adjustments that may have been made this week. Hot rolled prices now average more than $600 per ton with SMU at $610 per ton and SteelBenchmarker $608 […]
The following Comparison Price Indices (CPI) is analyzing prices supplied to the steel industry for the week ending December 23rd and does not include price changes from this week. At the end of this past week both Platts and Steel Market Update had hot rolled prices as averaging $595 per ton ($29.75/cwt). SteelBenchmarker did not […]
On Wednesday morning SSAB informed their customers of their intention to increase transaction prices by $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt) “effective immediately on all new non-contract orders.” Later in the day Nucor Plate Mill Group followed the SSAB lead and also increased their spot prices on carbon, alloy and heat-treated plate by $50 per ton. Where […]
This is our final issue before the Christmas and Chanukah (Hanukkah) Holidays which begin this weekend. We will not publish our regular (Executive) newsletter until next Tuesday, December 27th. We will then publish on Thursday before taking time off to celebrate the New Year. We will publish a Premium supplemental issue in the morning (Friday) […]
The following analysis of the steel markets in China is from Beijing Metal Import & Export Co.,Ltd and is being reproduced by Steel Market Update with permission: Please allow us to update China steel market ( Dec 12 – Dec 18, 2016) as usual as following: In the past week, China steel still stood at […]
Flat rolled prices continued their march toward $600 per ton hot rolled ($30.00/cwt) and $820 per ton base prices on cold rolled and coated ($41.00/cwt). Based on the steel indices followed by Steel Market Update (SMU), hot rolled, cold rolled and coated all increased their averages compared to one week earlier. SteelBenchmarker did report prices […]
Canadian shipments for all steel products in the month of November were 398,000 net tons, an increase of 11.6 percent from the month before and an increase of 11.3 percent from November 2015. Inventories at the end of the month stood at 1,087,700 tons, up 0.7 percent from last month but down 5.7 percent from […]