With the exception of SteelBenchmarker which only supplies steel indices twice per month, all of the other indexes showed flat rolled steel averages as being either the same or down slightly compared to one week ago. Perhaps the most surprising has been Platts which by the end of this past week had taken its benchmark […]
What SMU found interesting when looking at flat rolled steel price movement over this past week is Platts, the industry optimist recently, dropped their benchmark hot rolled pricing multiple times as the week progressed. Platts ended the week down $10 per ton to $685 per ton. The $685 is where SMU had its HRC index […]
Lead times are reported as being relatively stable compared to two weeks ago, but down slightly from the cycle highs which were achieved within the past two months. Our manufacturing and service center respondents reported the domestic steel mills as becoming more flexible in their flat rolled steel price negotiations. Fifty percent of the manufacturing […]
Lead times are reported as being relatively stable compared to two weeks ago, but down slightly from the cycle highs which were achieved within the past two months. Our manufacturing and service center respondents reported the domestic steel mills as becoming more flexible in their flat rolled steel price negotiations. Fifty percent of the manufacturing […]
With the exception of plate, flat rolled steel prices either moved sideways or slightly lower based on the steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Prices appear to have peaked with benchmark hot rolled averaging $688 per ton, cold rolled $808 per ton, galvanized .060″ G90 $871 per ton and Galvalume .0142″ AZ50, Grade 80 […]
Steel Market Update was the big mover of hot rolled prices this week as we took our average to $685 per ton or $10 per ton higher than one week ago. CRU, Platts and SteelBenchmarker all held their numbers as is for the week. The hot rolled indexes average is up $5 per ton to […]
This past week three of the four flat rolled steel price indexes followed by Steel Market Update (SMU) reported only modest gains in benchmark hot rolled pricing with SMU being the most conservative holding our pricing at the same levels as we had reported the prior week. Platts was the one exception as their hot […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) flat rolled steel price indices all saw very large double digit increases from the beginning to the conclusion of April 2014. Steel Market Update provides a range for our readers from low to high with the average being our indexed number for the product. We saw benchmark hot rolled prices increasing […]
Steel Market Update follows a number of price indices on a weekly basis. All of the indices saw double digit increases during the month of April. The average change on hot rolled was +$43 per ton, cold rolled +$47 per ton, galvanized +$66 per ton and Galvalume +65 per ton. Plate prices remained relatively stable […]
Steel Market Update is aware that many buyers and sellers of steel have been keyed in on the variations between various flat rolled steel indexes. In the past, Steel Market Update found the spread between our steel index and those of Platts and CRU to generally be negligible ($1-$10 per ton at any one time). […]
Flat rolled steel prices continued to rise for the 6th week (according to SMU HRC average) with the benchmark hot rolled coil price average just below $680 per ton and just a few dollars away from the $685 announced by Nucor and a number of other mills at the beginning of April. For the first […]
All of the steel indices followed by Steel Market Update saw flat rolled steel prices increase this past week. Benchmark hot rolled coil saw the spread between the indices shrink while the average HR price increased by $17 per ton. Cold rolled was one item where the price spread increased across the various steel indexes […]
Three of the four indices followed by Steel Market Update posted higher flat rolled steel averages through the end of this past week. CRU made the biggest catch-up move taking their benchmark hot rolled index to $654 per ton, up $21 per ton since the previous week. CRU and SMU HRC indices are now within […]
Steel Market Update is aware that many buyers and sellers of steel have been keyed in on the variations between various flat rolled steel indexes. In the past, Steel Market Update found the spread between our steel index and those of Platts and CRU to generally be negligible ($1-$10 per ton at any one time). […]
All of the indexes followed by Steel Market Update saw their averages on hot rolled, cold rolled and coated rise this past week (except Platts which remained the same). We are seeing the indices moving higher very quickly as the domestic steel mills firm up their order books at the previously announced $660 level on […]
Every month we track a number of the other steel indexes including the two used the most for contract adjustments: CRU and Platts. We had some interesting results as the month of March closed as all of the indices showed declines (compared to the end of the prior month) in hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized […]
When markets start to move each steel index will pick up the information in different ways. It is important to understand each index methodology, how often the markets are canvassed and how deep the reporting resources are. CRU indices are based on actual verifiable transactions from both steel mills and buyers. Platts takes into consideration […]
Usually the news about price increase announcements is regarding the ability of the steel mills to collect all, or a portion, of the announced flat rolled price increases. With the latest announcements made last week led by ArcelorMittal on Monday and then followed by the rest of the industry as the week progressed, the question […]
Has the flat rolled steel price turn already begun? According to Platts it has, as they moved both hot rolled pricing and cold rolled pricing higher on their index during the later part of the week. Both CRU and SMU reported flat rolled steel prices earlier in the week as either flat or lower than […]
The indexes are beginning to spread out, especially on benchmark hot rolled coil pricing. Steel Market Update saw HRC prices down $15 per ton this past week, SteelBenchmarker was $16 per ton lower (but they only produce prices twice per month), CRU down $5 and Platts held the line even with the previous week. The […]
The pace of the decline slowed this past week with a number of the indexes showing mild to no erosion in flat rolled steel pricing. Benchmark hot rolled steel prices dropped into the mid $630’s. The spread between hot rolled and cold rolled steel pricing was an unusually high $121 per ton. Plate prices continue […]
Buyers and sellers of flat rolled steel continue to be optimistic regarding business prospects both in the current market environment as well as looking out 3 to 6 months into the future. Even so, our index was 2 points lower than the +39 measured during the middle of February and at +37 is the lowest […]
There are situations at two mills which are causing sleepless nights for some flat rolled steel buyers. AK Steel, through the loss of their Ashland blast furnace, is helping tighten the Midwest market and keeping steel prices from plunging perhaps further than they may have otherwise. As one of our steel sources put it to […]
Every week Steel Market Update analyzes a number of the flat rolled steel price indexes and provides the analysis to our Executive and Premium Level members. For our Monthly subscribers we produce an analysis of what happened to steel prices in total during the course of, in this case, the month of February. The numbers […]
Steel Market Update follows a number of flat rolled steel price indexes and all of the indexes that reported to SMU this week saw benchmark hot rolled prices declining this past week. Three indexes reported double digit reductions in their HRC averages (Steel Orbis did not supply prices for this past week) and the average […]
Steel prices continue to drop on most, if not all, of the indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Benchmark hot rolled coil was referenced at $645 per ton by both Steel Market Update and Platts. CRU had HRC pegged a few dollars higher at $649 per ton. SteelBenchmarker, which is part of World Steel Dynamics, […]
The move by the domestic mills to reach $700+ per ton hot rolled is nothing but a blur in the rear view mirror according to the various steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Flat rolled steel prices fell across the board on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume steels this past week. The […]
The various indexes we follow on a regular basis all had prices on benchmark hot rolled moving lower this past week. Platts took the biggest leap moving from $675 to $660 in one week. SMU dropped $5 per ton to $660. Plate prices rose at Platts but dropped with CRU. The result is we are […]
On January 14, Steel Market Update (SMU) adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator from Higher to Neutral. This means we see steel market pricing at this moment as either in transition or moving sideways over the next 30 days. With ferrous scrap prices now weakening, lead times shortening and all of the available capacity back in […]
We are beginning to capture signs of a fracture in the resolve of the service centers to push higher steel prices into their end user accounts. With flat rolled steel spot prices trading within a fairly narrow and stable range for the past 10 weeks according to our SMU price indices, it should not come […]