Happy Holidays to everyone. I know I have told you on a number of occasions that I am now no longer at my desk, but rather slowly moving out to sea for an extended period of rest. Well, as much rest as a workaholic can possibly get. The rest of the SMU team is busy […]
Service centers continue to hold flat rolled inventories steady at 2.89 months of supply at the end of November, according to the proprietary Steel Market Update Service Center Inventories Index (SSII). This is now the third consecutive month we have found flat rolled steel distributors’ inventories close to the three months of supply level. Contrast […]
Both flat rolled and plate steel distributors saw only a very modest drop in inventories as of the end of July. Inventories continue to be “balanced” at 2.7 months of supply on flat rolled and 2.1 months of supply on plate, according to Steel Market Update’s proprietary inventory data. Flat Rolled Spread Tightens Although our […]
Nucor offered fourth-quarter guidance on Wednesday, forecasting a decrease in earnings compared to the third quarter. Fourth-quarter results are expected to be in the range of $0.50 to $0.55 per diluted share compared to third-quarter consolidated net earnings of $0.79 per diluted share and comparable to year-ago earnings. Imports continue to negatively impact the U.S. […]
Flat rolled steel prices jumped this week as buyers and sellers of steel react to the latest round of price increase announcements. Last week, there was a $50 per ton increase announced on steel plate and then later in the week the sheet mills announced a $30 per ton price increase on hot rolled, cold […]
Steel Market Update recently adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to “Higher” as, in our opinion, steel buyers should anticipate flat rolled steel prices to move up over the next 30 to 60 days. During last week’s analysis of the flat rolled steel market, 78 percent of the respondents agreed with SMU, sensing that pricing momentum […]
With mill order books extending into February on some products, most domestic steel producers have announced price increases. Steel Market Update sees steel prices moving higher for the next 30-60 days. The steel plate mills were the first to go last week, adding $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt) to the base price of plate steel. SSAB […]
This 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 on in a […]
On the heels of its $50 per ton increase on carbon plate prices on Wednesday, Nucor announced an additional $30 per ton increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products on Friday, effective immediately. U.S. Steel, NLMK USA and California Steel matched the Nucor sheet price increase of $30 per ton. ArcelorMittal USA, […]
Last week, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducted our early December 2018 flat rolled steel market trends survey. Invitations were sent to 640 people representing about 625 companies located in the United States and Canada. We invite manufacturing companies, service centers, steel mills, trading companies and toll processors/suppliers in the industry and ask them questions about […]
Flat rolled prices moved higher as the domestic mills announced yet another price increase this past week. There is now a large division between Platts and Steel Market Update (SMU) steel indexes as we prefer to wait a few days to let the dust settle after an increase has been announced. Benchmark hot rolled, prior […]
On the heels of Wednesday’s $50 per ton increase on carbon plate prices, Nucor today announced an additional $30 per ton increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products. In a letter to customers, Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group said the price increases are effective immediately on new and unconfirmed orders. SSAB Americas and […]
In separate notices to customers today, SSAB Americas, Nucor and ArcelorMittal USA announced their intentions to raise steel plate transaction prices by $50 per ton. This new announcement means the domestic plate producers have raised prices by $130 per ton ($6.50/cwt) over the past 30 days. SSAB Americas said it is raising transaction prices by […]
Final October imports were reported to be 3,148,243 net tons, according to U.S. Department of Commerce data released earlier this week. Total October imports were up 2.0 percent over September, and up 16.0 percent compared to levels one year ago. The Commerce Department also released license data this week that now suggests foreign steel imports […]
Rolled steel imports into the United States declined by 12.7 percent in the three-month period from September-November, compared with the prior three months, June-August. Sheet products declined by 11.4 percent on the same basis, according to weekly licensed import tonnages reported by of the U.S. Department of Commerce on Dec. 5. The data is reported […]
Flat rolled steel prices are firming and heading higher. SMU found hot rolled prices over the past week remaining the same as the week before. All of the other flat rolled products saw their averages move higher. Here is how we see prices this week: Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $590-$640 per ton […]
We had yet another week of “mixed” spot pricing in flat rolled and plate products, according to the Steel Market Update (SMU), Platts and SteelBenchmarker steel price indexes. Benchmark hot rolled was down for the week, according to the SMU and Platts steel price indexes. SMU saw the HRC price average as $615 per ton, […]
Except for a few flat rolled steel mills that have not yet completely filled their December order books, most steel producers are holding firm on steel pricing in anticipation of good demand in the first quarter. The result is we are seeing two distinct pricing markets – those who have December tons and are willing […]
Steel Market Update canvassed a large number of flat rolled and plate steel buyers during the course of the last 24 hours. The goal was to better understand where spot prices were being offered (and by whom) and if there were any differences in momentum or the negotiation positions of the various steel mills. We […]
Flat rolled steel prices were once again “mixed” with hot rolled prices higher, cold rolled lower (on SMU), galvanized lower, Galvalume no change and plate higher this past week compared to the previous week. Both Platts and Steel Market Update (SMU) saw the benchmark hot rolled price average as higher this past week. The spread […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices are all over the place this week. We are seeing a distinct difference in pricing from those mills who still have November and December tonnage compared to those whose lead times are into January and beyond. Hot roll appears to be the strongest product with virtually all of our […]
Service center shipments in October exceeded expectations, led by long products and plate, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Metals Service Center Institute data. Daily shipments in October were 1.9 percent higher than in September. On average since 2009, October has decreased by 1.9 percent, therefore these latest numbers were better than the historical […]
Twice per month, Steel Market Update (SMU) conducts an analysis of the flat rolled steel market and the trends that affect pricing, demand, etc. Each analysis is conducted via an email invitation to complete a questionnaire. SMU invites approximately 650 individuals who are active participants in the manufacturing, distribution, toll processing, trading and steel mill […]
Were you surprised by the price increases announced this week by the major mills? If you were, don’t feel bad. You were among the majority of steel buyers who could foresee no clear direction for steel prices. On Monday, Steel Market Update sent its market trends questionnaire to 650 steel buyers asking, among other questions, […]
Flat rolled steel prices are still mixed, according to the various steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update. SteelBenchmarker produced prices this past week and saw all items as moving higher. Platts, on the other hand, had a modest increase in hot rolled and a fairly significant decrease in cold rolled while plate remained the […]
Over the past few days, all of the domestic plate mills have announced a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) price increase on plate products. We have seen announcements out of the Nucor Plate Group, ArcelorMittal USA commercial plate group, Evraz and SSAB. SSAB was the last to announce with their letter dated Nov. 16, 2017. In […]
The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) released service center shipment and inventories data earlier this week. According to the MSCI data, flat rolled inventories now average 2.1 months of supply based on the 104,600 tons per day shipment rate reported for the month of October. October 2017 shipments were 9.6 percent better than one year […]
Steel shipments by Canadian service centers in October totaled 391,700 net tons, up 9.8 percent from the previous month, and also up 9.8 percent from October 2016, reports the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI). On a daily basis, total shipments were 18,700 tons per day in October (a 21-day month), up from 17,800 tons per […]
Nucor became the first sheet mill to step out and attempt to nudge hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel prices higher. This afternoon (Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017) the Nucor Sheet Group announced a new $30 per ton ($1.50/cwt) price increase to be “effective immediately.” The Nucor price increase follows a plate and hot rolled […]
Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this past week. Benchmark hot rolled continues to be one of the better performing of the group. Our HRC average was up $5 per ton this week. Cold rolled was also up, galvanized was sideways and Galvalume dropped $30 per ton. Plate prices on a delivered basis were up […]