Registrations continue to flock in, and we are now approaching 700 registered executives for the 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference. We anticipate close to 1,200 executives will be registered by the time we get to the conference, which is being held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta on August 22-24. You can join […]
Sheet steel prices continue to decline from the March/April bump, while plate prices are easing at a slower rate, according to SMU’s price indices published last Tuesday. Plate prices typically carry a premium over hot rolled prices because plate is a value-added product and requires more time on the mill. Hot rolled coil averaged $1,255 per ton […]
Ryerson is adding a Midwestern tool steel processor to its extensive portfolio of companies. The metals service center group has acquired St. Louis-based Ford Tool Steels (FTS) for an undisclosed sum. FTS processes tool steels and alloys with cut-to-length sawing, plate sawing, and grinding and mill services. Ryerson believes the sawing and machining capabilities of […]
The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration is adjusting the antidumping duty margins on imports of carbon and alloy cut-to-length plate from South Korea. The agency is conducting an administrative review of the duties, evaluating the period May 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021, according to a Federal Register filing. POSCO is the only Korean […]
Earlier this week SMU canvassed buyers on a variety of subjects, ranging from steel prices and demand to supply chain issues and new domestic capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we thought it would be fitting to share them in each buyers’ own words. Where do you think steel prices will bottom, and […]
Earlier this week SMU canvassed buyers on a variety of subjects, ranging from steel prices and demand to supply chain issues and new domestic capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we thought it would be fitting to share them in each buyers’ own words. Where do you think steel prices will bottom, and […]
Steel prices eased each week in May, following increases in March and most of April. Hot rolled prices were $1,440 per ton ($72 per cwt) the first week of May, just $40 lower than the mid-April peak. Prices then slipped between $15 and $75 each of the following weeks, with the SMU index averaging $1,255 […]
Sheet and plate prices continue to fall. That’s not a surprise, as there is little reason for them to do otherwise. What is surprising when you step back is just how quickly prices have fallen, and how much further they could continue to fall. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price now stands at $1,255 per ton ($62.75 […]
Sheet and plate prices continued to slip this week on expectations of lower scrap costs in June, increased import competition, and so-so demand, market participants said. Hot-rolled coil prices were down $35 per ton as were plate prices. Coated products were off by $25 per ton. Cold-rolled prices were up $10 per ton – or effectively […]
The 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference is only 13 weeks away, and we are looking forward to providing a quality program filled with knowledgeable and interesting speakers. We know your time is valuable, so we have gone the extra mile to provide an environment that will allow you to gather intelligence about the marketplace and to […]
The 2022 SMU Steel Summit Conference is only 13 weeks away, and we are looking forward to providing a quality program filled with knowledgeable and interesting speakers. We know your time is valuable, so we have gone the extra mile to provide an environment that will allow you to gather intelligence about the marketplace while also […]
Commercial Steel Products LLC (CSP) has acquired Ace Steel Supply Inc. (Ace) in a stock purchase agreement. The deal between the two steel service centers represents an alignment of mutual strategic interests, CSP said. Dallas-based CSP is a supplier of steel products, including tubular, flat-rolled, and structural steel. Its acquisition of Houston-based Ace will enhance […]
Preliminary Census data recently released shows that steel imports in April declined 12% month-over-month to 2.73 million net tons, falling from March’s 26-month high of 3.09 million tons. May import licenses through May 23 and are currently at a 15-month low of 2.02 million tons, down 26% compared to April and 35% lower than the […]
Nucor Corp.’s $3 billion acquisition of CHI Overhead Doors, its largest deal ever, represents a shift away from the company’s traditional roots as a steelmaker. “We absolutely want to pivot from being just a steelmaker to a manufacturing company,” Nucor president and CEO Leon Topalian said. That’s notable because Nucor is the largest steelmaker in the […]
Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market indicates steel mill lead times are slowly reverting back towards historical norms for most sheet products, while Galvalume and plate lead times inched up compared to two weeks prior. Lead times are now in line with levels seen in the beginning of 2022. Buyers surveyed this week […]
Nucor Corp. will begin to ramp up the $650 million expansion and upgrade of its Gallatin sheet mill in Ghent, Ky., next month, a company spokeswoman confirmed. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker will take a one-week outage from Tuesday, May 31, to Tuesday, June 7, for final equipment installation. The ramp will begin after that, she […]
Prices are down across the board this week. That’s not new if you’ve been paying attention lately. Price increases are often announced. Decreases rarely are. What’s new is Nucor’s almost aggressively transparent pricing strategy – announcing not only price increases but also flat and decreasing prices. That is new on the sheet and plate side […]
Flat-rolled steel prices were down again this week. Not as much as some had feared but the drops were more substantial than those hoping for a modest decline or stable pricing might have liked. The takeaway: Hot-rolled coil is now down $190 per ton ($9.50 per cwt) over the last five weeks. In other words, […]
Nucor will decrease plate prices by $50-200 per ton ($2.50-10 per cwt) depending on the product. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker made the announcement with the opening of its July orderbook for plate. Prices for as-rolled and normalized plate will be cut by $50 per ton, those for cut-to-length plate less than 72 inches wide will […]
What’s up with plate? I’ve been asked again and again how plate has managed to maintain such a high premium over sheet this year. Here are a few arguments that have been made to me over the past week in support of high plate prices. And below that are a few charts I still find […]
Alan Beaulieu Comments, Stanislav Kinchenko Webinar, Steel Prices, Events SMU’s Michael Cowden and David Schollaert are at the Boy Scout Dinner in Chicago this evening (Thursday). Steel Market Update is a supporter of the event which has been hosted by the metals industry for 50 years. If you have never attended the dinner, I highly […]
Sheet steel prices are moving downwards after the March/April bump, while plate prices continue to hold their ground, according to SMU’s price indices published each Tuesday. Plate prices typically carry a premium over hot rolled prices because plate is a value-added product and requires more time on the mill. Hot rolled coil averaged $1,350 per ton ($67.50 per cwt) this week and has […]
Sheet prices slipped again this week on what some sources described as a summertime market that has arrived a few weeks earlier than usual. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price was down $15 per ton week-over-week (WoW) to an average of $1,350 per ton ($67.50 per cwt). Other sheet products also fell, with cold-rolled down $30 per […]
Flat Rolled = 51.4 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 48.3 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat rolled inventories declined slightly in April in terms of shipping days of supply, while the amount of material on order rose again. At the end of April, service centers carried 51.4 shipping days of […]
The firm grip mills have held on price negotiations in March and April has loosened, according to buyers polled in our latest steel market survey. A large portion of steel buyers now report that mills are willing to talk price to secure an order. Every two weeks, SMU asks survey respondents: Are you finding domestic mills willing to negotiate spot […]
The US Department of Commerce has made affirmative preliminary determinations in the trade case investigating the dumping of OCTG by Argentina, Mexico, and Russia. High dumping margins were set for most producers and exporters from the three countries, which could slow down OCTG imports further in an already undersupplied market. Critical circumstances were found to […]
Steel Market Update’s market check this week indicates steel mill lead times are shortening for both sheet and plate products, easing an average of 0.9 weeks compared to two weeks prior. This also marks the first time lead times have fallen consecutively since January. Lead times for all tracked products are now roughly in line with levels […]
Imports of less expensive sheet and plate products continue to arrive at US ports, and at a faster pace in March. Following lighter volumes in February, overall flat product imports accelerated in March and took a larger share of the domestic steel market, according to Commerce Department data. Imports’ share of US sheet and plate markets […]
Total mill shipments of steel products recovered in March following repeated declines at the start the year. March’s mill shipments totaled 8.342 million tons, a 9% increase from February’s 7.655 million tons. Apparent supply also surged in March, up 12.9% versus the prior month, and expanding for the first time in three months. This analysis is based […]
Sheet prices fell hard this week after bouncing around between about $1,440-1,480 per ton ($72-74 per cwt) for much of April. Our average hot-rolled coil price dropped to $1,365 per ton this week, down $75 per ton (5.2%) from $1,440 per ton a week ago and down $115 per ton (7.8%) from $1,480 per ton […]