JSW Steel plans to pump $500 million into its newly acquired Acero Junction steel mill in a two-phase investment. The first $250 million includes the cost of acquisition, the revamp and restart of the electric arc furnace and slab caster, and modernization of the hot strip mill. The second phase will be dependent “upon the […]
There are big differences in the year-to-date increase of coiled plate imports on a regional basis. Last week, we published new regional import reports for HRC, CRC and HDG. This week we are publishing new reports for coiled and cut-to-length plate based on the new format. SMU produces import reports by product at the national […]
There are big differences in the year-to-date increase of cut-to-length plate imports on a regional basis. Last week, we published new regional import reports for HRC, CRC and HDG. This week, we are publishing reports for coiled and cut-to-length plate based on the new format. SMU produces import reports by product at the national level […]
The data from Steel Market Update’s latest market trends questionnaire shows some erosion in Future Sentiment. The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index measures how buyers and sellers of flat rolled and plate steels feel about their companies’ ability to be successful both now and three to six months into the future. Buyers and sellers of […]
The Commerce Department’s procedure for filing requests to have products excluded from the Section 232 steel tariffs has been called confusing and burdensome by many companies, some of which have been thwarted in their attempts to file. Applications can be rejected for something as simple as an inaccurate Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code. In testimony […]
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported foreign steel import license data for the first 19 days of June. The data is indicating to Steel Market Update a significant drop in imported foreign steel. Taking the daily license rate and spreading it across the 30 days of June, we see the month trending toward […]
I spent all day on Wednesday of this week in the Pittsburgh offices of the CRU Group. I was impressed with the people working out of Pittsburgh and was even more impressed with the size and scope of the company here in the United States and across the world. The company indexes all kinds of […]
Steel Market Update and the CRU Group are pleased to announce the SMU Steel Summit Conference will include a fireside chat between CRU Group Executive Chairman Robert Perlman and SMU President & CEO John Packard. Since Steel Market Update has been acquired by the CRU Group out of London, we thought it appropriate that Steel […]
Steel Market Update and the CRU Group are pleased to announce the SMU Steel Summit Conference will include a fireside chat between CRU Group Executive Chairman Robert Perlman and SMU President & CEO John Packard. Since Steel Market Update has been acquired by the CRU Group out of London, we thought it appropriate that Steel […]
Twice each month, Steel Market Update conducts a review of the flat rolled and plate steel industries. We do this through a web-based questionnaire, which is sent to approximately 640 individuals associated with either the flat rolled or plate steel industries. The individuals invited are from manufacturing, steel distribution, steel mills, trading companies and toll […]
I got a note from one of our readers who pointed out that Sept. 18 & 19 are Holy Days on the Jewish calendar. These were the days selected for our first SMU 201: Intro to Advanced High Strength & Other New Steels workshop, which is going to be held at AK Steel Research and […]
Earlier this week, the Department of Commerce reported license data for the month of June 2018. Based on licenses through June 12, the trend is for June foreign steel imports to come in around 2.1 million net tons. If the pace of actual receipts matches the pace of the licenses seen so far this month, […]
I am excited for you, our customers. I have been working closely with the CRU Group, and our members will begin to see some subtle changes to the articles we write. One will be the use of CRU data on such items as our Foreign vs. Domestic Price Spread articles, which we will publish in […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices remained essentially unchanged over the past seven days. As one steel buyer commented to Steel Market Update last week, the steel mills seem to be content at the current price levels and they don’t want to be seen as getting “greedy.” This doesn’t mean they won’t try to get […]
Steel Market Update canvassed flat rolled and plate steel buyers over the past two days and discovered hot rolled coil is by far the strongest product, followed by demand for plate. Both are connected to the energy markets, which are very strong right now. Our sources are also telling us construction, especially commercial construction, is […]
Beginning in July 2018, Steel Market Update has been recruiting flat rolled and plate steel service centers to participate in our monthly analysis. Our goal is to produce a quality data stream out of the service centers, which can help answer questions regarding future demand from the steel distributors. We provided data sources with our […]
Steel Market Update canvassed industry executives this week to gauge their expectations for steel prices and to see if they have felt any effects yet from the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel from Canada and Mexico. Most anticipate fallout from the tariffs in the coming weeks and months, including upward pressure on prices. Following are […]
This Steel Market Update analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source country. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis is to describe in detail what is going […]
This Steel Market Update report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 18 subcategories. Table 1 (click to enlarge) shows total supply to the market in three months through April and in 12 months through April for the four product groups and the 18 sub-categories. Supply to the market is […]
Total rolled steel product imports declined in May, but increased by 24.1 percent from March through May, compared with the prior three-month period. Total rolled steel product imports in May declined by 18.8 percent following April’s 17.0 percent increase. Sheet products were down by 22.6 percent, longs were down by 8.9 percent and tubular goods […]
Both manufacturing companies and steel service centers reported a rebound in support for higher spot prices out of the distributors to their end customers. Respondents to our inquiries on the subject reported to SMU that the elimination of the exclusion status for Canada, Mexico and the European Union was the main culprit impacting flat rolled […]
I am finally home long enough to gather my thoughts and hopefully get back to providing some insights into the flat rolled, plate and scrap markets from my perspective. There is obviously a lot of uncertainty connected to the Section 232 tariffs in both steel and aluminum. The Trump administration appears to have an intense […]
The SMU Steel Buyers Sentiment Index, which measures how buyers and sellers of flat rolled and plate steels feel about their companies’ ability to be successful both now and three to six months into the future, was slightly lower this week. Demand has stayed strong, and buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel generally remain […]
Final steel imports for the month of April were reported at 3,753,987 million net tons, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce data released yesterday. The last time import levels were this high was June 2017 with 3,923,126 tons. April imports are up 12.6 percent compared to the previous month, and up 12.0 percent compared […]
U.S. steel exports in April 2018 totaled 861,004 net tons (781,091 metric tons), down 0.9 percent from the month before, but up 0.4 percent from April 2017. Total exports have averaged around 835,000 tons over the last few months. The total April export figure is above the three-month moving average (average of February 2018, March […]
I have just returned from three days in Memphis where we conducted our Steel 101: Introduction to Steel Making & Market Fundamentals workshop. We had a packed house of motivated steel people from a wide variety of companies. Nucor Hickman and Nucor-Yamato did a great job of hosting our group as we toured both steel […]
This is not a “kiss and tell story” but rather an explanation of why I, John Packard, founder and owner of Steel Market Update, decided to sell my business to the CRU Group. CRU, known globally for its news, analysis and pricing information, was not the only suitor interested in SMU, but they were the […]
This is not a “kiss and tell story” but rather an explanation of why I, John Packard, founder and former owner of Steel Market Update, decided to sell my business to the CRU Group. CRU, known globally for its news, analysis and pricing information, was not the only suitor interested in SMU, but they were […]
Although the average price for hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steels declined slightly this week, the overall momentum is still pointing to higher prices, according to Steel Market Update data. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $840-$930 per ton ($42.00/cwt-$46.50/cwt) with an average of $885 […]
Two venerable Chicago-based metals distributors are joining forces, marking the latest big merger in the consolidating service center sector. Ryerson Holding Corp. has agreed to acquire Central Steel & Wire Co. in a transaction valued at $140 million. Acquisition of Central Steel and Wire will solidify Ryerson’s position as the second largest service center organization […]