This report examines the import share of tubular and long products shipments. Imports’ share of total tubular products rose to 44.6% in February, up from 42.5% the month prior, but primarily due to a 9.7% decrease in domestic tubular shipments overall. Tubular imports decreased for the third consecutive month in February. Long products import market […]
Commented one steel buyer: “No spot supply + strong demand + record-low service center inventories = higher prices. It’s simple economics.” True to that equation, flat rolled steel prices continued their weekly ascent, rising by another $30-35 per ton, according to Steel Market Update’s latest check of the market. The benchmark price for hot rolled […]
After recovering 9% in January, U.S. steel exports rose 1% in February to 677,000 tons, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. Of our six monitored product groups, the greatest month-over-month increase in exports went to cold rolled products, followed by hot rolled steel, while plate and other metallic coated exports declined. Total February […]
Final Census data shows that finished steel imports rose 15% in February to 1.45 million tons, as more U.S. buyers sought relief from climbing domestic prices and limited supply. This is the highest finished-steel import level seen since May 2020. Total steel imports were 1.90 million tons in February, down 22% month-over-month, due to January’s […]
Steel prices cannot rise indefinitely without hitting a ceiling at which they begin to erode demand. But respondents to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week report no signs of weakening demand so far. It appears there’s still some headroom for price increases, as most flat rolled and plate tags moved up another $10-25 per ton. […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
Looking for a Top… Looking for Steel…. As we conduct our analysis of the flat rolled and plate steel prices this week, we cannot help but notice the pace of increases has slowed…or is the slowing due to many mill order books being closed and having nothing new to offer. The availability of spot tonnage […]
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced two new initiatives the Biden administration is taking to advance its clean energy goals. They consist of offshore wind power generation and a data-sharing agreement between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Ørsted Wind Power North America LLC, an offshore wind developer. The administration’s renewable resource […]
Former President Donald Trump overstepped his powers when he extended Section 232 tariffs to downstream products such as steel nails, a trade court ruled. The U.S. Court of International Trade made the decision on Monday, April 5, in favor of the plaintiff in the case, PrimeSource Building Products Inc., and against the defendant, the United […]
The prevailing sentiment among steel buyers remains as steadfastly positive as steel prices are steadfastly high. Steel Market Update’s Steel Buyers Sentiment Index saw only minor changes since SMU’s last check of the market. Every two weeks, SMU asks buyers how they view their company’s chances for success in the current environment, as well as […]
Buyers continue to express frustration over the hugely extended lead times for delivery of steel from the mills. One respondent to Steel Market Update’s questionnaire this week described lead times as “late, late and late. That goes for imports, too.” Added another: “Lead time is not the issue. If they deliver 2-6 weeks late, the […]
Steel Market Update’s lead times data has seen only small changes from week to week since early March. Average lead times for hot rolled steel remain highly extended at just under nine weeks, while deliveries of cold rolled and coated products now take nearly 11 weeks. Lead times are an indicator of steel demand—the longer the […]
Steel Market Update’s latest lead times data shows a significant increase in delivery times for spot orders of flat rolled and plate from the mills. The average lead time for hot rolled is now nearly 10 weeks and coated products around 12 weeks—an increase of a week or more from the last survey in mid-April. […]
It’s hard to believe that lead times could get much longer, but that appears to be the case. Steel Market Update’s latest survey data shows that flat rolled delivery times have stretched by an additional one to two weeks over the past month. Lead times are an indicator of steel demand—the longer the average lead […]
It’s hard to believe that lead times could get much longer, but that appears to be the case. Steel Market Update’s latest survey data shows that flat rolled delivery times have stretched by an additional one to two weeks over the past month. Lead times are an indicator of steel demand—the longer the average lead […]
No change to report in the latest Steel Market Update negotiations data. The dynamic between buyers and sellers remains virtually the same. “The mills don’t negotiate at all, and I don’t blame them one bit. Why should they negotiate when there isn’t enough tonnage to go around?” commented one respondent to SMU’s questionnaire this week. […]
NOTICE: NO SMU PUBLICATION ON SUNDAY, APRIL 4 DUE TO EASTER HOLIDAY Imports are coming. We are watching galvanized carefully as automotive production is being reduced due to the chip shortage, and we are seeing higher volumes of galvanized imports coming in. March 2021 license data is showing 240,000 net tons of galvanized, which is […]
Imports are coming. We are watching galvanized carefully as automotive production is being reduced due to the chip shortage, and we are seeing higher volumes of galvanized imports coming in. March 2021 license data is showing 240,000 net tons of foriegn galvanized imports, which is up 55,000-65,000 tons above the levels seen over the prior […]
Market prices continue to rise, albeit not as quickly as what we were seeing a few weeks back. We cannot be sure as to when market prices will hit their peak. Market momentum is clearly on the side of the steel mills, lead times continue to be extended well beyond normal, and more orders are […]
Mills and service centers report historic profitability, thanks to steel prices that continue to set new records every month. Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week puts the current price for hot rolled coil at $1,330 per ton, fully triple the pandemic-induced trough of $440 per ton in August last year. That amazing […]
Finished steel imports jumped by 14% from January to February, according to preliminary Census figures, as buyers placed more foreign orders in search of relief from short supplies and high prices in the U.S. February imports totaled an estimated 1.89 million tons, which is actually 22% lower than January overall. But January’s total was inflated […]
Southern steel producers and distributors will have a new customer in 2022. Shipbuilder Austal USA, located in Mobile, Ala., broke ground last week on a steel manufacturing line to build steel ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. Austal USA is known for its construction of aluminum vessels, delivering 24 ships to the Navy […]
Nucor increased plate prices by $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt) in the afternoon on Friday, March 26, after SSAB had earlier in the day lifted plate tags by $100 per ton. It was not immediately clear why there was such a large difference. The steelmakers don’t always increase plate prices by the same amount, but a […]
SSAB Americas aims to increase plate prices by $100 per ton ($5/cwt) on all new non-contract orders, effectively immediately. The price hike applies equally to as-rolled mill plate, cut-to-length plate more than 72 inches wide, hot-rolled coils more than 72 inches wide, normalized plate, and quenched-and-tempered plate, SSAB said in a letter to customers Friday, […]
President Joe Biden will be in Pittsburgh next week to unveil his administration’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan. The plan will focus on both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said in a press conference. Spending on infrastructure is about both creating jobs and making the United States a more attractive place to do business, Biden […]
President Joe Biden will be in Pittsburgh next week to unveil his administration’s multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan. The plan will focus on both physical and technological infrastructure, the president said in a press conference. Spending on infrastructure is about both creating jobs and making the United States a more attractive place to do business, Biden […]
Buyers polled by Steel Market Update this week reported little change in the tight market conditions. Mills have few spot tons to offer, and those that are made available get snapped up immediately. Most of the limited spot buys on hot roll are transacting at around $1,300 per ton, but offers reportedly have ranged up […]
Buyers polled by Steel Market Update this week reported little change in the tight market conditions. Mills have few spot tons to offer, and those that are made available get snapped up immediately. Most of the limited spot buys on hot roll are transacting at around $1,300 per ton, but offers reportedly have ranged up […]
JSW Steel USA’s electric-arc furnace (EAF) and slab caster are up and running, but the company has decided to keep the plant’s hot strip mill idle, a company spokesman said. JSW’s Mingo Junction, Ohio, flat-rolled steel mill will make slabs and will “continue with outside tolling,” he added. “Right now, the hot strip mill is […]
Steel buyers believe benchmark hot rolled prices will peak at $1,350 to $1,400 per ton ($67.50/cwt-$70.00/cwt) based on our canvassing of the flat rolled and plate markets this week. We are seeing spot HRC orders at $1,300 per ton with a few buyers telling us there are offers up to $1,340 per ton from the […]