Negotiations between producers and buyers of flat rolled and plate steels have continued to tighten following two price increase announcements by the mills in May. However, the majority of buyers responding to Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week say the mills are still willing to talk price to secure orders, given the […]
By CRU Prices Analyst George Pearson, from CRU’s Steel Monitor In the U.S. Midwest, sheet prices have continued to strengthen while plate prices have weakened further. HR coil prices increased for the third consecutive week, albeit by just $5 /s.ton to $487 /s.ton. The volume-weighted average of transactions remains below recent mill targets of $500 […]
Algoma Steel welcomed a decision by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to initiate an antidumping investigation regarding hot-rolled heavy steel plate exported from Chinese Taipei, Germany, South Korea, Malaysia and Turkey. Algoma submitted a complaint to CBSA on April 6, 2020, alleging that the goods indicated were illegally dumped, causing injury to Canadian producers […]
Steel prices gained some strength across the board following the mills’ price increase announcements on flat rolled and plate products last week. The benchmark price for hot rolled has managed to get back to the $500 per ton mark, even as the market continues to struggle with shaky demand due to the coronavirus. The increases, […]
Memorial Day 2020 When you want to know where you are in life, look in your closet. There it was, bulging at the seams yet ignored. The cloth bag is blood red. I looked up the color online and the closest match was Vallejo Game Air Bloody Red. It is suspended by a white draw […]
Following on Monday’s announcement by ArcelorMittal USA and SSAB Americas, Nucor informed customers on Wednesday that it has raised the price of its plate products. Nucor is seeking an additional $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt) on all orders for carbon, alloy and heat-treated plate. The other mills raised their plate price by just $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt). […]
Neither rosy nor the voice of doom, IHS Markit analyst John Anton offered a realistic assessment of the U.S. economic recovery post-COVID-19 during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. Recovery from the current recession will not be a quick V-shaped rebound, said Anton, who is associate director of IHS Markit’s Pricing and Purchasing Service. Instead, he […]
By CRU Analyst Nikki Ni, from CRU’s Steel Monitor Over the past month, Chinese steel demand has accelerated, resulting in lower inventories while output remained at a high level. The ongoing demand recovery has improved the Steel PMI to 45.9 in April, up by 3.7pp m/m. Despite being below the 50-mark, the consecutive m/m improvement […]
Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this week as benchmark hot rolled rose $10 per ton and is now up $20 per ton from the cycle low. Cold rolled remained within the range we reported last week and our average on CR is unchanged. Galvanized pricing data was mixed with a couple of mills cutting […]
Domestic steelmakers raised the spot price of plate products by $40 per ton yesterday, hoping to stem the slide and capitalize on improving demand as coronavirus restrictions ease and businesses are allowed to gradually reopen. The plate price has been trending downward this year since peaking in January at $710 per ton ($35.50/cwt). Steel Market […]
The United States is beginning to go back to work. Automotive plants are scheduled to begin opening this week. The U.S. is working with Mexico to ensure automotive suppliers in Mexico are deemed “essential businesses” and return to work. From my perch here in Florida, traffic has returned to normal, restaurants are open (50 percent […]
We had to change the way we calculate the adjusted data, which will also change how we derive our analysis. Previously, we adjusted the data to mirror the exact mix of service centers that responded to the previous month’s survey. We saw a decrease in participation in the March survey, which we can understand given […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel extended slightly this week after declining since mid-March when the government ordered the closing of nonessential businesses to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level—the longer the lead time, the busier the mill. […]
Negotiations between producers and buyers of flat rolled steel have tightened somewhat following the price increase announcements by the mills earlier this month. Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week shows that mills are slightly less likely to negotiate on price than they were in April when competitors were scrambling to win orders […]
We had an exceptional SMU Community Chat Webinar with Dr. Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence on Wednesday morning. I am getting nothing but rave reviews of our free webinars, and I encourage you to inform your management and other teammates to register and then tune in at 11 AM ET every Wednesday. Next week […]
We had an exceptional SMU Community Chat Webinar with Dr. Chris Kuehl of Armada Corporate Intelligence on Wednesday morning. I am getting nothing but rave reviews of our free webinars, and I encourage you to inform your management and other teammates to register and then tune in at 11 AM ET every Wednesday. Next week […]
Despite announcements by the major mills of price increases or higher base prices, flat rolled steel prices saw relatively little change in the past week as the market continues to struggle with weak demand due to the coronavirus shutdowns.Steel Market Update’s Price Momentum remains at Neutral. Here is how we are seeing prices this week: […]
United States steel exports totaled 664,129 net tons of steel in March, up 4 percent from February and up 13 percent from one year prior, according to recent U.S. Department of Commerce data. March export levels are the hightest seen since October 2019 when 709,496 tons were exported to other countries. Prior to October, the […]
The “new normal” is to reinvent oneself or the way you will do business going forward. As many of you are aware, I am no spring chicken. Yet I refuse to live in the past. I learned (the hard way – through unexpected career changes) that I needed to constantly keep myself relevant to my […]
Bank of America is forecasting a slow recovery from the coronavirus crisis, one that will take years not just months, said Metals and Mining Analyst Timna Tanners, who was the featured guest speaker during Steel Market Update’s Community Chat on Wednesday. Bank of America economists anticipate a global recession in the second and third quarters. […]
When I started Steel Market Update back in 2008, I knew I wanted to build something that would become a community centered on providing quality market information and a platform from which I could help educate and motivate those within the industry. On the Steel Market Update website, we describe our mission as follows: To […]
The prices we reference this evening reflect orders being placed this week, as well as the prices being quoted by the mills to their customers. It is important that our readers understand there was a flurry of activity last week at numbers at, or below, the low end of our range. We discussed with one […]
The prices we reference this evening reflect orders being placed this week, as well as the prices being quoted by the mills to their customers. It is important that our readers understand there was a flurry of activity last week at numbers at, or below, the low end of our range. We discussed with one […]
Buyers of flat rolled and plate steels provided insights into the market to Steel Market Update throughout the day. On the flat rolled side, steel buyers seemed to be resigned to paying higher prices. Flat rolled price quotes are firming at the domestic mills, and the mills may well achieve their desired minimums of $500-$520 […]
Buyers of flat rolled and plate steels provided insights into the market to Steel Market Update throughout the day. On the flat rolled side, steel buyers seemed to be resigned to paying higher prices. Flat rolled price quotes are firming at the domestic mills, and the mills may well achieve their desired minimums of $500-$520 […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: It’s hard to blame Roberto Azevedo for quitting. The Director General (Chief Executive) of the World Trade Organization is leaving in September, one year before his term runs out. The WTO is in turmoil because of U.S. hostility […]
“Vacation: An extended period of recreating, especially one spent away from home or traveling.” Last week I took “vacation” time off, and unlike the definition above I did little recreating, rarely strayed from home, and did no traveling. How restful is that? The big news from last week was an apparent “firming” of steel prices. […]
Lead times for spot orders of flat rolled and plate steels declined sharply in April. Lead times ranged from a half-week to a full week shorter at the end of the month than they did at the beginning, depending on the product, according to Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire. Lead times for steel […]
On Monday of this week, Steel Market Update began canvassing the markets as we conducted one of our flat rolled and plate steel market trends suveys. The vast majority of the responses were received early in the week and the results of those responses are presented below. However, SMU continued to speak directly to both […]
Steel prices declined again this week as shutdowns to control the spread of the coronavirus continue to stifle demand. Steel Market Update’s price momentum remains pointed Lower. Here is how we are seeing prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $420-$500 per ton ($21.00-$25.00/cwt) with an average of $460 per ton ($23.00/cwt) […]