It is now the beginning of March and time to take a look back at the month of February to see what happened to pricing and trends that impact pricing. The SMU Pricing Momentum Indicator for flat rolled steel was adjusted to higher and our SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index rose when looked at as […]
First, a warm thank you to Tim Triplett, Sandy Williams and Brett Linton for filling in for me as I took a few days off to attend a Board of Trustees meeting in Minnesota (I left Florida to go to Minnesota?). Since I have been out of pocket for the past four days, I will […]
Service center executives polled by Steel Market Update on Monday and Tuesday reported spot prices firming up, though perhaps not enough for the mills to collect both $40 increases they have announced in the past month. Below are some of their comments on the current price momentum for flat rolled and plate steel, as well […]
Flat rolled steel prices have begun moving higher. Benchmark hot rolled coil (HRC), which has been one of the weakest of the flat rolled products recently, was up $10 per ton. Cold rolled did even better, up $15; galvanized better than CR, up $20; and Galvalume bested them all, up $25 per ton compared to […]
As of Feb. 26, with the month nearly complete, U.S. steel imports were trending at less than 2.5 million tons, based on license data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. February imports are likely to finish the month well below January and below the 3- and 12-month moving averages as well. Semi-finished steels continue to […]
Flat rolled steel service centers are beginning to believe a change in spot pricing is necessary. New data collected by Steel Market Update saw a precipitous decline in the percentage of distributors who were lowering their spot pricing to their flat rolled steel customers compared to a couple of weeks ago. One of the proprietary […]
The Bureau of Industry and Security today denied the exclusion exemptions for two mills: California Steel Industries and Evraz. At this point, we are expecting the NLMK USA and JSW USA exclusion requests to be denied as well. However, a trade attorney (not Lewis) suggested that we not move too fast with any proclamations. There […]
It’s Oscar night. I will try to keep my final thoughts brief. President Trump has delayed the increase in the Section 301 tariffs against China. The deadline was March 2, 2019. No new deadline has been set. However, President Xi of China will meet with President Trump in Florida in the later part of March. […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel continue to inch out as market momentum shifts toward strengthening steel prices. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mills. The busier the mills, the less likely they are to […]
With steel prices in transition following last month’s price increase announcement from the major mills, the tone of negotiations between producers and buyers appears mixed. The majority of buyers report the mills are still willing to talk price on all products but plate, but fewer in the high-demand categories of hot rolled and galvanized. Most […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported record results in 2018, delivering the highest net sales in the company’s history at $11.53 billion. “2018 was an incredible year for Reliance, full of significant financial and operational milestones,” said Jim Hoffman, President and CEO of Reliance. “We experienced improved pricing conditions, healthy demand and excellent execution by our […]
Barsteel Corp., a flat rolled steel distributor and processor, has acquired Millennium Metals LLC. Headquartered in Steger, Ill., Millennium Metals specializes in the processing and distribution of plate and bar products to a wide range of manufacturers across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Far East. Art Hoekstra, co-founder of the company, will continue as […]
The domestic steel mills have been able to put a floor on flat rolled steel prices since Nucor announced their $40 per ton price increase on Jan. 28, 2019. Now that they have a firm floor, the mills are slowly moving prices higher. In the process, they are very slowly shifting momentum. Steel Market Update […]
We found mixed results in flat rolled steel prices this week. Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that the bottom has been “firming” and that prices are moving sideways to slightly higher on most products. SMU talks more about price momentum and pricing in a separate article in tonight’s issue. Here is how we […]
The U.S. Department of Commerce released new license data through the 19th of February and the trend for imports is at 2.6 million net tons (+/- 200,000 tons). Semi-finished steels continue to be the largest single product imported, with most being slabs heading to mills like California Steel, NLMK USA, JSW USA and ArcelorMittal Mobile. […]
February imports are trending high, close to 3 million net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce license data released Feb. 12. However, looking at the data more closely, the domestic steel mills continue to bring in a tremendous amount of semi-finished steels (slabs, billets – but most are slabs). The mills are on pace […]
A strong economy and record profits are stimulating expansion in the U.S. steel industry. Often crediting President Trump for “leveling the playing field” with steel imports, companies like U.S. Steel and Nucor are taking the opportunity to reinvest their windfall in new and upgraded facilities. Adding capacity in a world that is struggling with steel […]
Steel prices are trying to rise following the $40 per ton increase announced by the mills last month, but how fast, how far and for how long remains the subject of much speculation. Comments from SMU’s market canvas this week show buyers with two basic views: Either, “Mills are very firm on pricing. We’ve got […]
As President and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, Tom Gibson is the front man for an industry whose views are not always the most popular. Gibson will be a keynote speaker at Steel Market Update’s 2019 Steel Summit, scheduled for Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. This will be Gibson’s first speaking engagement at […]
As President and CEO of the American Iron and Steel Institute, Tom Gibson is the front man for an industry whose views are not always the most popular. Gibson will be a keynote speaker at Steel Market Update’s 2019 Steel Summit, scheduled for Aug. 26-28 in Atlanta. This will be Gibson’s first speaking engagement at […]
Earlier this week I was at the Port of Tampa Steel Conference as I was asked to be the master of ceremonies, and I also moderated the two main panels on Wednesday morning. Both panels dealt with trade issues with the primary focus being on the Section 232 tariffs on steel. The Port of Tampa […]
U.S. steel exports in November totaled 615,818 net tons (558,661 metric tons), down 2.4 percent from October, and down 30.2 percent from levels one year ago. After the September 2018 low of 584,858 tons, last November is the next lowest month for exports since February 2009 when 602,945 tons of steel were exported outside of […]
Flat rolled steel distributors have been slowly backing away from offering spot prices to their end customers at lower numbers than what was seen a couple of weeks ago. At the same time, these same service centers are reporting difficulties getting those same end user customers to pay higher prices, despite the price increase announcements […]
Flat rolled steel distributors have been slowly backing away from offering spot prices to their end customers at lower numbers than what was seen a couple of weeks ago. At the same time, these same service centers are reporting difficulties getting those same end user customers to pay higher prices, despite the price increase announcements […]
Canadian distributor Russel Metals reported strong financial results for the 2018 fourth quarter and for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, for all three of its operating segments. The company attributed its success to growth in value-added processing and its U.S. energy field stores, as well as an improvement in its average selling price. Russel, […]
Rolled product imports increased by 4.5 percent in January, calculated as a three-month moving average (3MMA) year over year. This early look at January’s import volume is based on Department of Commerce license data (see explanation below). Beginning in January 2018, we expanded this import analysis to include all major steel sectors: sheet, plate, longs […]
I continue to get mixed messages regarding the strength of the flat rolled steel market, and specifically lead times and pricing. I have heard from a number of steel buyers of longer lead times on galvanized at a couple of mills. The strength does not yet seem to be universal. Neither is the weakness. For […]
Now in the second month of the new year, shortly after the mills announced a $40 price increase, price negotiations appear to be tightening up a very small bit. Buyers generally report that the mills are still willing to talk price on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and to a lesser degree Galvalume. On the […]
Mill lead times for spot orders of flat rolled steel have extended slightly in the past few weeks, lending support to those who believe the market is near the bottom. Lead times for steel delivery are a measure of demand at the mill level. The longer the lead time, the busier the mills. The busier […]
There is a considerable amount of information/debate happening in Washington, D.C., Canada, Mexico, China and Europe regarding tariffs either in place or being threatened by the Trump administration. We included a press release in tonight’s issue that was sent out by Wilbur Ross of the U.S. Department of Commerce earlier this week. U.S. Trade Representative […]