This report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of the competitive positions of sheet steel, aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis includes some downstream products and a comparison of truck and rail transportation. On Jan. 15, the BLS released its series of […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that foreign producers continue to hold a price advantage over domestic HRC. With U.S. HRC prices now over $1,000 per ton, foreign HRC prices are theoretically between $10-$171 per ton cheaper than domestic steel prices. Recall that the price differentials between domestic […]
Steel price levels are in uncharted territory these days. The current prices, especially in an economy where interest rates are near zero and inflation remains low, are truly remarkable. How did this happen and when will it end? The short answer is that nobody really knows—but we can analyze the events surrounding the spike and […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce that veteran steel reporter Michael Cowden has become the newest member of the Steel Market Update team. Michael has joined SMU as Senior Editor where he will bring his experience reporting on flat rolled and plate markets, steel pricing, news and steel-related human-interest stories. “Michael Cowden is well respected within […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce that on Jan. 4, 2021, Michael Cowden will become the newest member of the Steel Market Update team. Michael will join SMU as Senior Editor where he will bring his experience reporting on flat rolled and plate markets, steel pricing, news and steel-related human-interest stories. “Michael Cowden is […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to announce that on Jan. 4, 2021, Michael Cowden will become the newest member of the Steel Market Update team. Michael will join SMU as Senior Editor where he will bring his experience reporting on flat rolled and plate markets, steel pricing, news and steel-related human-interest stories. “Michael Cowden is […]
Recently we were asked how we can produce our flat rolled and plate price indices when there are limited transactions either due to high prices or a holiday period like we are in now. In both scenarios there continue to be transactions (although few and far between), but we are careful not to overheat or […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that, with U.S. HRC prices nearing $1,000 per ton, foreign imports theoretically have become cheaper than domestic steel prices. U.S. producers have lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East Asia by over $100 per ton, and imports from Germany […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that steel imports continue to become more enticing to U.S. buyers, according to the latest SMU and CRU price indices. U.S. producers have again lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East Asia, and imports from Germany and Italy are […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that steel imports have become more enticing to U.S. buyers than in previous months, according to the latest SMU and CRU price indices. In our previous update in early November, U.S. producers had lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East […]
Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that steel imports have become more enticing to U.S. buyers than in previous weeks. U.S producers appear to have lost their price advantage over HRC imports from Far East Asia, according to the latest SMU and CRU price indices. The price differentials between […]
Our latest foreign vs domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that U.S-producers continue moving closer to losing their price advantage over foreign imports, according to SMU and CRU indices released this week. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had widened through mid-August to reach record highs, but have since declined […]
This week’s foreign vs domestic hot rolled steel price comparison shows that U.S-producers are moving closer to losing their price advantage over foreign imports, according to SMU and CRU indices released this week. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had widened through mid-August to reach record highs, but have since declined […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that the large price advantage held by U.S-producers over foreign imports is rapidly loosing steam, according to the latest SMU and CRU indices. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had widened over the last few months to reach record highs […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S-produced steel continues to hold a price advantage over foreign imports, but that price advantage is lessening due to the rapid rise in domestic prices, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price differentials between domestic HRC compared to foreign imports had widened over […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S-produced steel continues to hold a heavy price advantage over foreign imports, albeit slightly less than mid-August, according to SMU and CRU indices. After slightly shrinking in May, the differentials between domestic HRC compared to German, Italian and East/Southeast Asian imports widened over the last […]
This week’s comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices now hold the widest price advantage over foreign imports in our limited 10-year data history, according to SMU and CRU indices. After slightly shrinking in May, the price gap between domestic HRC compared to German, Italian, and East/Southeast Asian imports has widened over […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices have gained an even greater advantage over foreign imports, according to SMU and CRU indices. After shrinking in May, the price gap between domestic HRC compared to German, Italian, and East/Southeast Asian imports has widened over the last few weeks. The […]
The coronavirus pandemic has crippled GDP growth and made the world economy smaller. It follows, then, that the same is in store for steel. “There is going to be a permanent reduction in the size of the steel market,” predicted veteran industry analyst John Lichtenstein, managing partner of the Swiss-based Research and Consulting Group AG […]
Now is a good time to consider the futures market, said Andre Marshall, president and founder of Crunch Risk, LLC, during Wednesday’s SMU Community Chat Webinar. Hedging price risk can help bring some certainty to the unpredictability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Right now, the market is very bearish based on what we are […]
Today there was an explosion at the “D” furnace at ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor. Will there be some impact on the market? Will it be enough to put a bottom to the slide in prices? It’s too early to tell, but we will be watching developments closely in the coming days and weeks. Steel shipments between […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices continue gain a greater advantage over foreign imports, according to SMU and CRU indices. After shrinking in May, the price gap between domestic HRC compared to German, Italian, and East/Southeast Asian imports has widened over the last month. The following calculation […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices have started to gain a greater advantage over foreign imports, according to SMU and CRU indices. After shrinking in May, the price gap between domestic HRC compared to German and Italian imports has now slightly widened, while the East/Southeast Asian […]
Flat rolled steel price momentum, for spot pricing out of the domestic mills, continues to be in transition, and the SMU Price Momentum Indicator is at Neutral. Neutral means spot mill pricing could go in either direction over the next 30 days. However, SMU and our parent company CRU have both been reporting lower spot […]
Flat rolled steel price momentum, for spot pricing out of the domestic mills, continues to be in transition, and the SMU Price Momentum Indicator is at Neutral. Neutral means spot mill pricing could go in either direction over the next 30 days. However, SMU and our parent company CRU have both been reporting lower spot […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices remain advantageous over foreign imports, but at a slightly lesser level compared to mid-May figures, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price gap between domestic HRC compared to German imports is just over $100 per ton, while the Italian […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices remain advantageous over foreign imports, albeit slightly less so than late-April figures, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price gap between domestic HRC compared to German and Italian imports remains over $100 per ton, as has been the case […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices are becoming even more advantageous over foreign imports, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price gap between domestic HRC compared to German and Italian products has widened significantly over the past few months, and the East/Southeast Asian price spread […]
This week’s SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices continue to remain advantageous over foreign imports, even further so than two weeks ago, according to SMU and CRU indices. The price gap between domestic HRC compared to German and Italian products has widened significantly over the past few weeks, […]
The latest SMU comparison of foreign and domestic hot rolled prices shows that U.S prices continue to remain advantageous over foreign imports, according to SMU and CRU indices released earlier this week. The price gap between domestic HRC compared to German and Italian products has widened to over $100 per ton since our previous price […]