Flat Rolled = 52.2 Shipping Days of Supply Plate = 45 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled US service center flat-rolled steel supply in February edged down slightly, while the amount of material on order surged. At the end of February, service centers carried 52.2 shipping days of supply, according to adjusted SMU data. This […]
What’s perhaps most shocking about Cleveland-Cliffs starting the week up $100 per ton ($5 per cwt) on sheet and targeting $1,200 per ton for hot-rolled coil (HRC) is that many of you didn’t find it shocking. In early February, we got used to prices going up by $50 per ton from one week to the […]
Flat-rolled steel prices continue to rise in response to repeated mill pricing announcements, a trend we’ve seen nearly weekly since Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices have surged by $490 per ton – a 78% jump – since Cleveland-Cliffs and US Steel kicked off the craze with $60-per-ton price hikes. On Monday, Cliffs […]
US steel shipments rose 3.6% in January vs. December, but fell 7.9% year over year, according to the most recent figures from The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Domestic steel mills shipped 7,148,270 net tons in January, up from 6,901,567 net tons shipped the prior month, but falling from the 7,757,807 net tons shipped […]
The LME aluminium three-month price eased lower again last week and was seen trading Friday at around $2,300 per tonne. Still below the high mark for 2023, recent news from the macroeconomic scene has dampened demand sentiment and prices accordingly. Market participants awaited Jerome Powell’s semi-annual congressional testimony, with Friday’s focus the nonfarm payrolls report. […]
Cleveland-Cliffs aims to increase spot market prices for hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated flat-rolled steel by at least $100 per ton ($5 per cwt) effective immediately. The Cleveland-based steelmaker also said its new minimum base price for hot-rolled coil (HRC) was $1,200 per ton in a press released on Monday, March 13. That’s up from the […]
The steel industry in the US, and across much of the developed world, finds itself between two greens. On the one hand is the constant innovation towards sustainable, decarbonized “green” steel. And, on the other, is a more traditional green, the bottom line: money. The hope is to keep the two aligned, increasing profits while […]
By CRU Senior Analyst, Puneet Paliwal, from CRU’s Scrap, DRI/HBI & Pig Iron Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) for March rose by 7.4% month on month (MoM), to 357.7, which is its highest value since June 2022. Strong Turkish buying of scrap and pig iron since the second half of February is the key […]
US plate prices have steadily increased over the past two weeks, largely in response to repeated mill price hikes. The most recent increase came from Cleveland-Cliffs when the steelmaker aimed to increase base prices for steel plate by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt). It was Cliffs’ first official plate price notice in […]
The White House recently released the president’s 2024 federal budget proposal. It is a huge document, proposing to spend nearly $7 trillion during the year beginning Oct. 1. That is a significant increase over the FY2023 budget approved by Congress. It even surpasses federal spending during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. For those oncerned […]
Rig counts dropped in Canada and the US this week, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The total US rig count was 746 for the week ended March 10, down three rigs from the week prior. The number of active oil rigs in the US fell to 590, down two from the prior […]
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has broken ground on its previously announced aluminum rolling mill outside of Columbus, Miss., according to local media reports. When local TV station WCBI asked SDI chairman, president, and CEO Mark Millett why the company chose the area, he said it was in large part because of opportunities in the beverage […]
The price advantage domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) had enjoyed over offshore hot band has evaporated as US mills drive prices higher, according to Steel Market Update’s latest foreign vs. domestic price analysis. Nucor and ArcelorMittal last week announced a target price $1,150 per ton ($57.50 per cwt) for HRC. Market contacts have told SMU that some […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, contact Lindsey Fox at lindsey@steelmarketupdate.com. Monthly Key Market Indicators (KMI) improved over the past month, advancing repeatedly since hitting a recent low last November, according to the latest analysis by […]
Aggressive mill price increases are pushing flat-rolled tags up at a sharp clip, rivaling the spike seen in response to the war in Ukraine last March. On Friday, Nucor came out with yet another notice – up an extra $150 per ton ($7.50 per cwt) and setting a new base price for hot band of […]
Three US senators have asked the US Trade Representative to engage with the European Union on proposed measures that would limit the trade of steel scrap. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), and Todd Young (R., Ind.) wrote a letter to USTR Katherine Tai on Feb. 28. The letter outlines the potential fallout to […]
A sheet supply squeeze is on and, according to some market participants, chances are it’s only going to get tighter. There is no one thing, a war or pandemic, that’s causing the squeeze this time. Instead, it’s a litany of comparatively smaller events that combined have created some real havoc. You know that list by […]
ArcelorMittal said its new, minimum base price for US hot-rolled coil is $1,150 per ton ($57.50 per cwt). The Luxembourg-based steelmaker said the move was effective immediately and coincided with the closure of its April order book for hot-rolled and tandem products. “The increase is applicable to all new spot orders and all recent quotations […]
Mexico has historically relied on steel sheet product imports to meet its demand as domestic suppliers, such as Ternium and AHMSA, had insufficient production capacity. But, in recent years, both Ternium and ArcelorMittal have built new capacities for hot-rolled (HR) coil in Mexico. Ternium is also in the process of building more downstream capacity and […]
The international rig count was up by 14 in February, helping to offset recent declines in the US, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The total US rig count was 749 for the week ended March 3, down four rigs from the week prior. The number of active oil rigs in the US […]
Nucor aims to increase base prices for new orders of steel sheet by at least $150 per ton ($7.50 per cwt) effective immediately. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker also said that its new base price for hot-rolled coil was $1,150 per ton. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed […]
Steel mill lead times are following prices as they continue to trend upward, according to SMU’s latest market survey. SMU’s hot-rolled lead time is approximately six weeks, up from 5.4 weeks in our last market check two weeks ago. The result is notable because it marks a second consecutive and significant gain. Recall that lead times had been steady just below […]
Steel buyers are finding mills much less willing to negotiate lower prices this week, according to SMU data. Respondents to our latest survey reported that most mills were unwilling to negotiate lower sheet prices. Some said plate mills were still willing to cut deals. Every two weeks, SMU asks steel buyers whether domestic mills willing to negotiate lower […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. aims to increase base prices for steel plate by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt). The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the move was effective immediately on all new, non-contract orders. It applies equally to as-rolled, normalized, and quenched-and-tempered material, Cliffs said in a press release on Thursday, March 2. “Cliffs also reserves […]
February came in with a bang and went out with one too. We saw two rounds of $50-per-ton sheet price increases early in the month. Then one of $100 per ton. And finally Cleveland-Cliffs came in near the buzzer on Monday with another $100-per-ton price hike. We think that was the last shot of the […]
Last week’s mill price increases continue to make their way into the market. Cliffs’ latest this week – up another $100 per ton ($5 per cwt) and setting a new base price for hot band of $1,100 per ton – has yet to be reflected in today’s pricing. But that hasn’t stopped it from garnering […]
Cleveland-Cliffs aims to push its hot-rolled coil price up by at least another $100 per ton ($5 per cwt) in its fourth sheet price hike this month. Cliffs made the announcement in a press release on Monday, Feb. 27, just six days after announcing another $100-per-ton increase. Cliffs said its new target base price for hot […]
US plate prices have remained mostly flat this week, a trend we’ve seen since Nucor announced a plate price cut in late November. Recall that in late November, Nucor said it would be lowering plate prices by $140 per ton ($7 per cwt) with the opening of its January order book. Plate tags have varied […]
The US and Canadian rig counts decreased again last week, but they remain elevated compared to a year ago, according to data from oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The total US rig count was 753 last week, down seven rigs from the week prior. The number of active oil rigs in the US fell to 600 […]
Nucor Corp. has increased its cost estimate for its new sheet steel mill in West Virginia by ~$400 million. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said Feb. 23 that its board approved additional capital for the project. The company now expects a net cash outlay of ~$3.1 billion for the West Virginia electric-arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill, up from $2.7 billion when […]