Total mill shipments of steel products fell 12.2% in September to 8.502 million tons, after seeing an 11.1% increase the month prior. Apparent supply also slipped in September, down 6.9%, following a 7.9% increase in August. September’s contractions mark the first decrease in steel supply in seven months. This analysis is based on steel mill shipment […]
Earnings season is (mostly) done and dusted, so I’d like to turn your attention to another season: M&A announcement season. Bankers like to get deals done before Christmas. And I think there is a decent chance that any deals in the pipeline now are announced in the next month or so. Also, while spot prices […]
By Greg Wittbecker, Advisor, CRU Group Quotas in exchange for exemption, a bad precedent for other countries There has been much written about the new détente between the EU27 and the USA in the aftermath of the deal to suspend duties on European steel and aluminum. There are also reports that something may also be […]
Algoma Steel posted record profits in its fiscal second quarter, and the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker expects money to continue to pour in as high spot prices roll into 2022 contracts. The Sault Ste Marie, Ontario-based company also thinks that the traditional relationship between sheet and plate prices will be restored as infrastructure spending increases demand for […]
The board of Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Algoma has approved the construction of two new electric arc furnaces (EAFs) with combined steelmaking capacity of 3.7 million tons per year. The new EAFs are expected to come online in 2024 and to replace the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based company’s blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces. “We believe […]
Steel Market Update’s price range for plate products raised a few eyebrows this week. Allow me to point out a few facts about SMU pricing data. SMU provides a weekly range as reference points for you to review. The reference points come from steel buyers and from steel mills. However, we place the most emphasis on […]
Buyers continue to gain leverage in steel price negotiations, especially for hot rolled products. Steel Market Update asks buyers every two weeks whether mills are willing to talk price on spot orders. Nearly three out of four (72%) of the hot rolled buyers responding to this week’s poll said mills are now willing to negotiate HR […]
Lead times for orders of flat rolled and plate steel continue to shorten, as expected in a period when steel prices are declining. SMU’s latest check of the market shows the typical hot rolled lead time has now dipped below seven weeks for the first time since November 2020. That’s nearly a month shorter than […]
U.S. steel exports decreased 4% from August to September to 732,000 tons, according to the latest U.S. Department of Commerce data. September marks the lowest monthly export level seen in six months. Recall that in March and June of this year, we saw the two highest monthly export levels in the last three years (790,000 and 778,000 […]
Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows both flat rolled and plate prices declining by another $10-25 per ton. The declines were not unexpected and are in line with the downtrend that has materialized in the last two months as seasonal dips in demand and competition from imports put pressure on domestic […]
Owen Industries, a service center, processor and fabricator of steel sheet and plate based in Carter Lake, Iowa, has acquired the assets of Omaha Steel, a steel foundry in Wahoo, Neb. The acquisition includes a newly built foundry facility that gives Owen Industries the opportunity to expand its offerings into the design and production of […]
The House has finally passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill after months of wrangling not only among Republicans and Democrats but also among factions within the Democratic party. “American steel built this country, and the industry is now ready to get to work on rebuilding this country. Repairing and modernizing our national transportation system is essential […]
Final Census data shows that September foreign steel imports increased 17% from August to 3.26 million net tons and a 28-month high. October import licenses are currently at 2.47 million tons as of Nov. 4, down 24% from September and down 11% compared to August. The last time total monthly import levels were this high was April […]
United Auto Workers (UAW) members at John Deere have again rejected a tentative labor pact agreed to by union and company negotiators. Approximately 55% of UAW members voted to reject the proposed six-year labor agreement. Only 45% voted in favor of it. That’s a better reception than the one received by an initial tentative contract […]
JSW Steel (USA) Inc. has launched the second phase of a $260 million project aimed at refurbishing its plate mill in Baytown, Texas. The upgrades will allow the Baytown mill to better compete in on- and offshore wind tower, agriculture, construction and storage tank markets as well as in other sectors for which surface finish […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores Trade representatives from the USA and Europe came to an agreement at the end of October in regard to the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. The Department of Commerce further announced on Oct. 31 that consultations regarding the trade of steel remain ongoing between the USA and […]
As expected, steel prices are volatile and unpredictable as the market approaches year-end. Hot rolled continued its slow, gradual descent averaging $1,875 per ton this week, down another $10, based on Steel Market Update’s survey data gathered on Monday and Tuesday. Cold rolled and coated products, on the other hand, saw small increases to around […]
Algoma Steel Group Inc. and Triple M Metal LP have formed a joint venture – ATM Metals Inc. – to source prime scrap and other iron units for the Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker. The tie up between Triple M, one of North America’s largest private scrap recyclers, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based Algoma comes as the latter is […]
Evraz steel sales dropped in the third quarter as a strong showing from its North American operations only partially offset weaker demand as well as logistics and maintenance issues in Russia. The sales drop in Russia resulted in part from a slowdown in the local construction market. It also stemmed from bad weather and difficulty […]
Lead times for orders of flat rolled and plate steel from the mills have shortened again compared to this time last month. About 60% of the buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s survey this week describe lead times as just “slightly longer than normal.” Only 15% still consider them “highly extended.” SMU’s check of the […]
Steel Market Update data suggests buyers continue to gain some leverage in price negotiations. SMU asks buyers every two weeks if the mills are willing to talk price on spot orders. Around 50% of hot rolled buyers responding to this week’s poll said some mills are now willing to bargain to secure an order. That’s […]
Steel imports into the United States jumped by nearly 35% in the first nine months of this year, versus the same period in 2020, according to Census Bureau data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Tight supplies and record-high domestic steel prices have attracted a host of imports, which are reportedly some $400-800 […]
Hot rolled steel prices have declined for the fifth time in the last seven weeks to an average of $1,885 per ton, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market on Monday and Tuesday. That’s down $70 per ton from the high reached in the first week of September. Price momentum for HR is […]
I thought I’d be writing today that Steel Market Update had switched all its steel pricing momentum indicators to lower. But what you think should happen and what reality serves up are sometimes very different things. Hot-rolled coil prices continued to fall – they’re down $25 per ton compared to last week. That’s not a surprise. […]
Swedish steelmaker SSAB posted record earnings again in the third quarter thanks in part to sharply higher plate prices in North America. But while North American demand is expected to remain strong in the fourth quarter, that in Europe is anticipated to soften because of the automotive chip shortage – which has dented vehicle production on […]
Mexican flat-rolled steelmaker Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA) has restarted its hot strip mill after a planned two-week outage, a company spokesman said. The mill has been up and running since last week, he said. The company confirmed the outage at the beginning of October. AHMSA’s hot strip mill has annual capacity of 2.8 million […]
SSAB Americas has followed competitor Nucor in raising prices for steel plate by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The price hike is effective immediately for all new spot orders, the Mobile, Ala.-based steelmaker said in letters to customers on Monday, Oct. 25 The increase is $60 per ton CAD for customers in Canada. It applies […]
By Trade Attorney Lewis Leibowitz U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has been traveling. She has a lot on her plate. In an effort to attract allies to the United States’ plan to rein in China, the U.S. has floated a proposal, according to reports, to replace the 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs with a […]
Nucor Corp. in a leading move has increased plate prices by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt) with the opening of its December orderbook. The increase – announced on Friday, Oct. 22 and effective immediately – is equal across all plate products. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker had in prior months increase prices for quenched-and-tempered plate […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.’s earnings skyrocketed higher in the third quarter, and the steelmaker predicted that higher priced contract deals would protect it from any slip in spot prices in future quarters. The Cleveland-based steelmaker recorded net income of $1.28 billion in the third quarter of 2021, up from a mere $2 million in the same quarter […]