Written by John Packard, President & CEO, Steel Market Update When I was selling steel for a domestic mill (Winner Steel, now called NLMK Sharon), there was always cause for concern when steel buyers would contact me and reference a price from a trade publication that I knew to be “out of date” with the […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
The 2018 SMU Steel Summit Conference is on pace to become the largest conference we have ever hosted. Our conference will be the premium networking event for manufacturers, fabricators, steel distributors, steel mills, trading companies and toll processors, as well as the industries that supply those groups. Based on the current registration rate, we anticipate […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
I am in London attending meetings with our new parent company, the CRU Group. I have been very impressed at the depth of the work being done by the CRU team. I will be sharing more about the CRU Group in the days and weeks ahead. I do want to stress to those of you […]
The climb in home prices eased somewhat in April, according to the latest data from the S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller National Home Price Index. The national index showed a 6.4 percent annual gain in April, down from 6.5 percent in March. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 6.2 percent, down from 6.4 percent […]
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 […]
The following calculation is used by Steel Market Update to identify the theoretical spread between foreign hot rolled steel import prices (delivered to USA ports) and domestic hot rolled coil prices (FOB Domestic mills). We want our readers to be aware that this is only a “theoretical” calculation as freight costs, trader margin and other […]
Flat rolled and plate prices had yet another mixed week, according to the latest comparison of leading price indices. Steel Market Update’s hot rolled average decreased by $10 to $890 per ton, while Platts’ hot rolled price rose $4 to $894 per ton. SteelBenchmarker adjusted their hot rolled price to $886 per ton, up $5 […]
Flat rolled and plate prices had yet another mixed week, according to the latest comparison of leading price indices. Steel Market Update’s hot rolled average increased by $20 to $900 per ton, while Platts’ hot rolled price was unchanged at $890 per ton. SMU’s cold rolled average fell $5 to $1,005 per ton, while Platts […]
Flat rolled prices increased slightly on most products this past week, according to the steel price indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Plate prices were seen as being slightly lower than what was published one week ago. Benchmark hot rolled has been relatively stable over the past few weeks. SteelBenchmarker, which only publishes prices twice […]
Flat rolled and plate prices had yet another mixed week as there seems to be a semblance of balance in the flat rolled side of the market, while plate customers wait for new pricing. Hot rolled prices were essentially unchanged with Steel Market Update’s average remaining at $880 per ton ($44.00/cwt). Platts moved their average […]
Flat rolled steel prices continued their mixed ways for about the fourth week in a row. Steel Market Update and Platts both saw benchmark hot rolled as up slightly and the two indexes are now $1 per ton apart in their assessment of the HRC market average. SteelBenchmarker did not report prices this past week. […]
Yet another mixed week as the flat rolled and plate steel markets wait for the government to decide what to do next… It’s tough to be a steel buyer when the laws of supply and demand are no longer in sync with the actual market. Hot rolled prices were mixed although the spread between Steel […]
Low inventory continues to drive up home prices across the U.S. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller National Home Price NSA Index rose 6.3 percent in March, up from 6.1 percent in February. “Year-over-year prices measured by the National index have increased continuously for the past 70 months, since May 2012. Over that time, the price […]
Flat rolled steel prices were once again “mixed” for this past week. Platts reported hot rolled coil prices as being lower, while their cold rolled, galvanized rose and plate remained the same. Steel Market Update saw HRC prices as being up $10 as was our plate pricing. Cold rolled remained the same, while coated products […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices were mixed this past week. Benchmark hot rolled price averages ranged from a low of $854 per ton (SteelBenchmarker) to a high of $882 per ton (Platts) with Steel Market Update reporting our average last week as $870 per ton, unchanged from the week prior. Cold rolled averages ranged […]
The pace of flat rolled steel price expansion slowed this past week with hot rolled and cold rolled barely budging off the levels reported for the week ending March 30. Galvanized average pricing rose slightly (+$5) on SMU’s index to $1,106 per ton for .060” G90. Platts took their average up $33 per ton and […]
We are in an unusual situation when it comes to evaluating “spot” pricing. Many active buyers are contract customers and there are very few “sophisticated” buyers actually in the spot market buying flat rolled steel. Plate buyers have told SMU that they are on allocation and there are very few “spot” purchases being made. One […]
All three of the steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update reported their average prices this past week. The lag of SteelBenchmarker pricing is very evident as they lagged well behind our index as well as that of Platts. Benchmark hot rolled prices averaged $870 per ton, according to SMU and Platts. SteelBenchmarker reported $825 […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices continued their march higher, albeit at a more subdued pace compared to the past few weeks. Today, we are going to compare the end of the week flat rolled steel indices provided by Steel Market Update and Platts. SteelBenchmarker did not produce steel prices this week as they only […]
We saw another surge in flat rolled and plate steel prices last week as steel buyers deal with closed order books, allocation and uncertainty. With the Section 232 tariffs set to go into effect on Friday of this week (March 23) buyers are scrambling to make sure they are covered. This has allowed the steel […]
With the final announcement of Section 232 steel tariffs, we saw steel prices spike (again) with double-digit gains on most products followed by Steel Market Update. The prices referenced in the table below are through the week ending March 10, 2018. Hot rolled prices surged with Platts recording their average as $850 per ton by […]
Flat rolled steel prices surged this past week on all of the steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update. Benchmark hot rolled reached the $800 per ton mark ($40.00/cwt) on Platts with SMU’s HRC index close behind at $790 per ton. SteelBenchmarker, which only produces its index twice per month, was trailing way behind, raising […]
We saw mixed results depending on which index you are following. SMU believes the variance is due to quotes vs. actual orders and the fact that many buyers who are reporting prices may not have actually bought flat rolled steel products in the spot market (from mills) over the past week. We are well aware […]
Flat rolled steel prices had a mixed week as benchmark hot rolled came close to $750 per ton for the first time since Jan. 17, 2012. We are seeing a shrinking of the spread between spot base prices for hot rolled and those of cold rolled and coated steels. Hot rolled prices rose on all […]