By CRU senior analyst, Ryan McKinley Supply has become increasingly available to sheet markets around the world. In many cases, this in coinciding with weak demand, creating a supply glut over the near term and increasing competition among exporters in major sheet-producing regions. The key for markets to retighten lies with China, with exporters there […]
The drop in sheet prices we’ve seen at the mill level is now spreading downstream – an abrupt shift from just a few weeks ago, according to our latest survey data. More and more service centers are cutting prices. I had expected to see an increase in the number of service centers reporting that they […]
Rig counts dropped in the US for the second straight week and inched up by one rig in Canada vs. the previous week, according to the latest data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The total US rig count was 731 for the week ended May 12, down 17 from last week. The number of active oil rigs in the US fell by two […]
The Congressional Steel Caucus (CSC) has urged the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to take action to address what it calls a “surge of Mexican steel imports” into the US. The CSC claims the imports are in violation of the US and Mexican 2019 Joint Statement on Section 232 Duties on Steel and Aluminum, […]
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports remain a feasible alternative despite repeated price decreases in the US market, according to SMU’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. Domestic tags are still notably more expensive than imported product, as offshore steel prices and US prices decline in tandem. The price advantage domestic HRC had enjoyed over imported material as recently […]
Steel sheet buyers find mills more willing to negotiate lower spot pricing now than at any time since late November, according to SMU data. All the sheet products SMU tracks saw mills more willing to talk price this week. Plate bucked that trend. Every two weeks, SMU asks steel buyers whether domestic mills are willing to negotiate […]
US steel shipments fell 5.9% in March vs. the same month last year, according to the most recent figures released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) on Tuesday. Domestic steel mills shipped 7,372,430 net tons in March, off from 7,835,600 net tons shipped a year earlier, but up 6.6% from the 6,917,842 net […]
A much-anticipated bleeding in US flat-rolled steel prices has begun. On the hot-rolled coil side, we’ve been losing approximately $20-25 per ton per week since mid-April. That’s a boo-boo. Steel might need a Band-Aid. Does it become a wound that needs a tourniquet? I ask that question because the high end of our HRC price […]
Steel prices peaked at the start of the month, with hot-rolled coil reaching $1,160 per ton ($58 pet cwt) on average on April 10. Tags began to decline near the month’s halfway mark and closed out the month $40 per ton lower at $1,120 per ton. The SMU Price Momentum Indicator for sheet products was […]
Sheet price continued to decline this week on increased supply, shorter lead times, and aggressive pricing from some domestic mills. Also pressuring steel prices were expectations of lower scrap prices and import competition. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price now stands at $1,070 per ton ($53.50 per cwt), down $35 per ton from $1,105 per ton last […]
A senator from West Virginia believes the US Army Corps of Engineers’ permitting process for Nucor’s planned mill in Mason County is dragging on too long. “I absolutely think it’s moving too slowly,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va), said during a virtual press conference with reporters on Thursday, according to Huntington, W.Va.’s The Herald-Dispatch. […]
Rig counts fell in the US and remained flat in Canada vs. the previous week, according to the latest data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The total US rig count was 748 for the week ended May 5, off seven rigs from the previous week. The number of active oil rigs in the US fell by three to 588 in the same comparison. Gas rigs were […]
The most recent cycle of destocking has ended, ArcelorMittal said, with first-quarter sales and shipments rising notably from the prior quarter, boosted by strength in the North American region. Those figures remain lower, however, compared to highs seen in the year-ago quarter. The Luxembourg-based global steelmaking giant posted Q1 net income of $1.096 billion, a […]
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports remain attractive to US buyers despite the current price correction in the domestic market, according to SMU’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. Domestic tags are still significantly more expensive than imported product, namely because offshore steel prices are declining concurrently with US tags. The price advantage domestic HRC had enjoyed over imported […]
US hot-rolled coil prices slipped for a third consecutive week as market participants debated whether and when the declines might accelerate. Another big question: where the new floor for HRC might be? SMU’s hot-rolled coil price dipped to $1,105 per ton ($55.25 per cwt), down $15 per ton from last week and down $55 per […]
Feelings are running high with prices inflecting downward from historically high levels. I’ve had producers say that we’ve written too negatively about higher prices. I’ve also had consumers say that we’ve written too positively about higher prices. For the record: SMU doesn’t have a position on prices. We aim to report what’s happening in the market […]
For the second consecutive week, rig counts were up in the US and down in Canada, according to the latest data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The total US rig count was 755 for the week ended April 28, up two rigs from last week. The number of active oil rigs in the US remaind flat at […]
A year ago, the LME was $3,100 per metric ton (mt) and the Midwest Premium (MWP) was pressuring $0.39/lb. In early May 2023, the LME is resting near $2,300/mt and the MWP is settled at $0.25/lb. That marks a $0.50 /lb. reversal in underlying metal value year over year (y/y). The US Midwest premium continues […]
The percentage of steel buyers saying mills are willing to negotiate spot pricing jumped above 60% for the first time since late December, according to SMU data. All the products SMU surveys showed substantial gains this week, with plate climbing to 40% of buyers saying mills were willing to talk price vs. 0% two weeks ago. Every two weeks, […]
Sheet prices are coming down now. The question isn’t one about market direction anymore. Instead, the question is whether the declines will be “managed” by a more consolidated group of sheet mills or whether it will be more precipitous, akin to what we saw last fall. We won’t release full results of our steel market […]
Sheet prices fell across the board this week on the heels of shorter lead times, higher-than-anticipated inventory levels, and potential import competition. Some market participants predicted that further declines would be “managed” by a more consolidated flat-rolled steel industry. Others said they feared that prices could come down quickly given how sharply they rose in […]
Drama surrounding AHMSA – Altos Hornos de Mexico, the largest integrated flat steel plant in Mexico – may finally be coming to an end as a bankruptcy now clears the way for new owners to restart the facility with fresh capital. Due to various issues, AHMSA stopped production in December 2022. This sudden closure caused […]
We’ve written in SMU about “green” steel and whether steel consumers, including market-leading OEMs, will pay a premium for it. What about the potential for premiums in scrap too? Maybe not for green scrap. But what about for “prime grade” or prime-equivalent shredded scrap? Shred that transforms into prime – maybe we could call it […]
A Mexican court has declared steel sheet producer Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA) bankrupt and appointed the National Chamber of Commerce of Muzquiz city, Coahuila state, as trustee. The determination, published in the country’s Official Gazette on April 17, follows the company filing a bankruptcy petition in January. The civil first court of the first instance in […]
Hot-rolled coil prices edged downward for the first time since late November, according to SMU’s latest check of the market. The dip in HRC prices comes after we saw lead times contract slightly, an uptick in the number of mills willing to negotiate lower prices, and a modest increase in sheet inventories. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price […]
Flat Rolled = 52.7 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 41.0 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel inventories rose in March with a slowing daily shipping rate. At the end of March, service centers carried 52.7 shipping days of flat-rolled steel supply, according to SMU data, compared to 52.2 shipping […]
Rig counts continue to fall in the US and Canada, according to the latest data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The total US rig count was 748 for the week ended April 14, down three rigs from the week prior. The number of active oil rigs in the US dropped by two from the prior week’s 588. The […]
Not since World War II has North America been at the center of a metals manufacturing investment boom. Three new aluminum rolling mills are coming up out of the ground as testament to over $6 billion in new investments to secure domestic aluminum supply. It has been over 80 years since the last metals manufacturing […]
Remember the forecasts about 2023 being a normal year for steel? Instead, we find ourselves in a third consecutive year of “unprecedented” volatility. But I wonder whether we’re seeing a rough redux of 2022 when it comes to sheet products. Namely, sheet prices shooting sharply higher in Q1 only to correct lower in early Q2. […]
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports remain attractive, even as US price gains have slowed, according to SMU’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. And while domestic tags continue to inch higher, they remain well behind the targeted base price of $1,300 per ton ($65 per cwt) for HRC issued by Cleveland-Cliffs back on April 3. The price […]