US Steel has indefinitely idled the tin mill at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana, a company spokeswoman confirmed in an email to Steel Market Update on Thursday, Oct. 13. The move could be a prolonged one, upwards of six months, according to an unconfirmed report. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker had temporarily idled Gary’s No. 5 tin […]
The US Department of Commerce has updated the antidumping duty rate on imports of carbon and alloy cut-to-length plate from South Korea’s Posco. Having looked at the one-year period ended April 30, 2021, Commerce set a final weighted-average dumping margin of 2.59% for POSCO, according to a Federal Register filing. The final rate was slightly […]
On Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest report card on the US economy’s performance with its September jobs report. The results, though surprisingly upbeat, point to potentially more troublesome days ahead, both personally and collectively for the steel industry. So here are just a few thoughts to ponder as October nears […]
Domestic sheet prices fell sharply this week, marking their first substantial drop following nearly two months of mostly sideways or modestly downward moves. Another month of falling scrap prices appears to have been the catalyst. Another is this: Mills that had talked about discipline on the way up are now fighting for market share, sources […]
US steel exports rebounded 8% from July to August, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. Just over 800,000 net tons entered the country during the month, now the third-highest monthly export rate seen in the last four years (behind March and April 2022). Exports on a rolling annual basis are now at a […]
US plate prices have been unchanged for nearly three weeks. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t under pressure. Buyers remain mostly on the sidelines of the spot market and are working through inventories as demand slows to a crawl. The market has been quiet since Nucor announced a $120-per-ton ($6-per-cwt) price cut on discrete plate […]
Final US Census Bureau data indicates that steel imports totaled 2.51 million net tons during the month of August, just 267 tons higher than the preliminary figures released in late September. This is down 6% from the prior month. It is also the third lowest monthly rate in the past year and a half (behind […]
The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration is giving interested parties the opportunity to request administrative reviews of antidumping and countervailing duties on certain imports. The reviews look at imports during certain periods of reviews to determine if the duties should be adjusted. Interested parties currently have the opportunity request reviews of duties on […]
The ongoing trend for steel sheet prices has remained mostly flat over the past several weeks, and this week was really no exception. We’ve seen a tightening of spreads between hot-rolled coil prices and those for cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume. And the trend of narrowing spreads is even more pronounced when it comes to plate. […]
Steel prices were steady to slightly down throughout the month of September, following declines seen in each of the four months prior. Hot-rolled prices averaged $780 per ton ($39.00 per cwt) the first week of September, falling to a low of $770 per ton in the third week of the month, and rising to $775 […]
SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects on Monday and Tuesday of this week, including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com […]
Sheet prices continued to tread water this week, with modest declines in hot-rolled coil and galvanized base prices offset in part by minor gains in cold-rolled coil and in Galvalume. Plate prices were also flat, following declines in prior weeks, on the heels of Nucor on Monday announcing unchanged pricing for discrete plate. Our benchmark […]
Steel service center Willbanks Metals Inc. is expanding in Fort Worth, Texas. The company recently purchased property across the street from the current location of its headquarters and flat-rolled steel sheet and plate service center, allowing it to expand with a new Red Bud stretcher leveler and additional processing equipment. “We are thrilled to continue […]
Nucor Corp. aims to hold plate prices steady with the opening of its November order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the flat pricing would be effective Tuesday, Oct. 4. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with either a Nucor sales acknowledgement or written acceptance by both […]
Metals supplier Alro Steel has completed the acquisition of Access Metals, a service center and supplier located in Essex, Md. Effective Sept. 30, the purchase allows Alro to continue growing its customer base. Access Metals caters to small-purchase customers, both from the public and within the manufacturing, machining, and fabricating industries. “Alro shares my philosophy […]
Our most recent lead time data is flashing a clear warning signal when it comes to plate prices, and so too are plate prices abroad – which in theory offer massive discounts to domestic numbers. Let’s start with plate lead times, which we released today along with lead time figures for sheet products. Plate lead […]
Steel mill lead times shrunk across the board this week, with the processing time narrowing for all five products we track. SMU’s latest lead times analysis shows that production times on hot rolled, galvanized, and plate products declined 0.1–0.3 weeks compared to our previous check on the market, while cold rolled and Galvalume lead times […]
The power position in price negotiations between steel mills and steel purchasers has seen a complete turn around in the past six months, transitioning from a seller’s market in March and April to a strong buyer’s market today. According to our latest steel market survey, the percentage of buyers reporting that mills are willing to […]
The US Department of Commerce has issued its final determinations in the trade case investigating the dumping of OCTG imports from Mexico, Argentina, and Russia, and the subsidization of OCTG from Russia and South Korea. The investigations include both welded and seamless OCTG. Antidumping Case In the final results of the case investigating Mexico, Commerce […]
Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Algoma Steel Inc. expects results for its fiscal 2023 second quarter to be down significantly compared to prior quarters because of operational challenges, declining shipments, and lower prices. In its latest earnings guidance, the Sault St. Marie, Ontario-based company said it expects fiscal ’23 Q2 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and […]
Prices for steel sheet remained mostly flat again this week, up or down modestly depending on the product. Hot-rolled coil was up $5 per ton ($0.25 per cwt), cold-rolled was down $10 per ton, and both galvanized and Galvalume base prices were down $5 per ton. What we’ve seen for the last month is an […]
Preliminary US Census Bureau data indicates that steel imports will have totaled 2.51 million net tons during the month of August. This is down 6% from the prior month and potentially the lowest monthly rate seen since February of this year. Recall that monthly import levels also declined 6% from June to July. August figures […]
Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) has restarted its electric arc furnace (EAF) in Monclova, Coahuila, which had been down since July due to a failure at its electrical substation. Work to repair the substation was slowed by difficulties in sourcing the right equipment, which in turn delayed the restart of the EAF, according to a […]
Well, I guess it’s the official outage and idling season. In the month of September alone we’ve confirmed a half dozen or more maintenance outages (some pulled forward) and temporary idlings. Why? It sure looks like some steelmakers are trying to deal with declining demand and uncertain market conditions. The hope? Somewhat of a stopgap measure […]
Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. We are sharing the comments we received in each buyer’s own words, rather than summarizing them in ours. We want to hear your thoughts, too! Contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com to be […]
Total mill shipments of steel products were largely sideways in July, up marginally when compared to June. Mill shipments have been fluctuating up and down all year with little consistency. July’s mill shipments totaled 8.11 million tons, a 0.3% increase from June’s 8.09 million tons. Apparent supply also saw a slight gain in July, up just 1.1% […]
Imported sheet and plate products arrived at US ports at a slower clip in July, resulting in them accounting for a lower share of the domestic market, according to US Commerce Department data. Imports’ share of US sheet and plate markets peaked in December, with sheet reaching its highest level in the past 4.5 years. The trend […]
NLMK USA has planned a roughly month-long outage for upgrades to its electric-arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill in Portage, Ind. The work is scheduled for October and November and will be focused on enhancements to the plant’s melt shop and hot strip mill, a company spokesman said. NLMK USA in emails to customers specified the […]
Nucor Corp. is pursuing LEED v4 for Building and Design certification for its new plate mill in Brandenburg, Ky. With categories of sustainable performance and climate change, and third-party transparency and reporting requirements, the certification is even more rigorous than previous LEED rating systems, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a press release. “Sustainability has […]
Sheet prices drifted sideways to down this week, while plate prices fell substantually following the Nucor price decrease announcement on Monday. SMU’s hot-rolled index eased an average of $15 per net ton this week to $770 per ton. This is now tied with our late August price for the lowest HRC price seen since November […]