Steel mill lead times, following recent pricing moves, have pushed upwards, according to SMU’s latest market survey. SMU’s hot-rolled lead time is approximately 5.4 weeks, up from 4.9 weeks at our last check of the market two weeks ago. The result is notable because lead times have been just below five weeks since the beginning of […]
Cleveland-Cliffs has ruled out spending money to build new electric-arc furnaces (EAFs), the company’s top executive said. The Cleveland-based steelmaker will instead focus on decarbonizing its blast furnaces (BFs) and basic-oxygen furnaces (BOFs), which are better suited than EAFs to supply the automotive industry, company chairman, president, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. “Cleveland-Cliffs does not […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. saw its best financial performance in 2022 on record-breaking sales of $17.03 billion, nearly 21% above 2021. The results were achieved “across nearly every metric during a period of continued metal price volatility and broader economic uncertainty,” Reliance president and CEO Karla Lewis said in earnings commentary released on Thursday, Feb. 16. […]
The “new normal,” we have heard that a whole lot since the pandemic took hold. Are we really seeing a paradigm shift? Or is it just a trendy phrase? But, first, let’s talk about price hikes. If three’s a crowd, then what’s five – a herd? The week got off to a quick start early […]
Sheet prices rose again this week as a blitz of $50-per-ton ($2.50/cwt) price hikes spurred the market higher. Steel Market Update’s hot-rolled coil price now stands at $825 per ton, up $15 per ton from last week and nearing the highest levels we’ve seen since late July. The difference: HRC prices were on their way […]
ArcelorMittal and NLMK USA have followed three major domestic steelmakers in increasing sheet prices by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal said it was targeting a minimum base price of $900 per ton effective immediately, echoing moves first announced by Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs. “The increase is applicable to all new spot […]
US Steel said it will supply General Motors (GM) with verdeX® sustainable steel produced at Big River Steel, its electric-arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill in Arkansas. The low-carbon steel produced at the Osceola, Ark., mill will begin shipping to GM manufacturing facilities starting this year, the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said. “We are pleased to join GM in […]
US Steel Corp. got in on the action and increased spot prices for carbon steel sheet by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The move is effective immediately, the company said in a letter to customers dated Monday, Feb.13, and joining Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs in their efforts to boost sheet tags. The latest price […]
Cleveland-Cliffs has joined Nucor in increasing spot prices for steel sheet by at least another $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The Cleveland-based steelmaker, like Nucor, is also targeting a base price of $900 per ton for hot-rolled cold. Cliffs said the increase was effective immediately and applied equally to all new orders of hot-rolled, […]
Nucor Corp. is pushing hot-rolled coil price up by at least another $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt), its second sheet price hike in ten days. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company, the largest steelmaker in the US, said the move was effective immediately for base prices on new orders. Nucor made the announcement in a letter to […]
ArcelorMittal expects that its $2.2-billion acquisition of Brazilian steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP) will close in late February. “The transaction closes end of this month,” chief financial officer Genuino Christino said during an earnings call with analysts last week. The Luxembourg-based steelmaker had said that the deal had received final antitrust clearance in commentary […]
ArcelorMittal executives think that the global steel market should rebound in 2023 as the destocking period that characterized 2022 ends. “I believe the worst conditions of these cycles have passed,” Lakshmi Mittal, executive chairman of the Luxembourg-based steelmaker, said in a conference call with analysts last week. Mittal made the prediction after the company – […]
The Covid-19-related shutdowns and subsequent supply chain disruptions emphasized the importance of onshoring. Geopolitical uncertainty, the war in Ukraine, and recent sovereign security issues, have added to global supply chain concerns. In the US, new legislation, the IRA, USMCA, and Build Back Better have focused on securing and bolstering North American manufacturing conditions. The task […]
SMU’s hot-rolled coil price has cracked $800 per ton ($40 per cwt), and so have prices on the futures market. The question of whether the $800-per-ton threshold would be breached has been answered. But it’s still unclear to me whether that threshold was breached by solid underlying demand or by momentum (buying ahead of the next […]
Ternium Mexico president César A. Jiménez sees the company’s investment in Pesquería, outside of Monterrey, as an opportunity to replace imports with steel produced in Mexico. Jiménez sat down with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden at SMU’s Tampa Steel Conference for a Fireside Chat. Beyond Pesquería, he gave his thoughts on a range of topics, […]
Whether it’s restarting blast furnaces in the US and abroad, or pushing full-steam ahead at its Big River Steel 2 project, US Steel Corp. is keeping abreast of current demand, with an eye toward a sustainable future. Ken Jaycox, US Steel’s chief commercial officer, sat down with SMU managing editor Michael Cowden on Feb. 7 […]
Sheet prices continue to rise, extending a rally that began the week after Thanksgiving. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price is now above $800 per ton ($40 per cwt) for the first time since early August, roughly six months ago. At $810 per ton on average, HRC prices are up $30 per ton from $780 per ton […]
SMU polled steel buyers on a variety of subjects on Monday and Tuesday of this week, including current and future steel prices, inventory strategies, supply, demand, and new mill capacity. Rather than summarizing the comments we received, we are sharing some of them in each buyer’s own words. We want to hear your thoughts, too! […]
The US long products market was largely stable this month, as end-use demand remained subdued, and buyers continued to work through inventories. Scrap prices rose in January, fuelling bullish sentiments, but sluggish activity limited any expansion in margins. As a result, rebar, merchant bar, and structurals were all flat month-on-month (MoM). Wire rod prices decreased […]
US plate prices have been largely stable since the beginning of December after tags fell by $140 per ton following Nucor’s price cut notice at the end of November with the opening of it January order book. A move that caught many by surprise at the time. But since then, plate prices have varied by […]
US Steel restarted the No. 3 blast furnace at its Mon Valley Works in western Pennsylvania because of stronger demand, company executives said. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker intends to keep the No. 8 blast furnace at its Gary Works in northwest Indiana temporarily idled “for now,” chief financial officer Jessica Graziano said. “We’re watching the order […]
Nucor Corp. has joined the push to increase sheet prices by at least another $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker, the largest in the US, said the move was effective immediately for base prices on new orders. The company made the announcement in a letter to customers dated Friday, Feb. 3. […]
US Steel posted a drop in fourth-quarter 2022 profits partly attributable to lower flat-rolled steel shipment volumes and selling prices. But the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker nonetheless recorded the second-best annual profit in its history. “We are well-positioned for 2023. Our record cash and liquidity support a balanced capital allocation approach,” US president and CEO David Burritt […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has rolled out another $50/ton ($2.50/cwt) sheet price increase just a couple of weeks after doing the same in mid-January. The Cleveland-based steelmaker has also announced a target base price of $850 per ton for hot-rolled coil, up from the $800 per ton announced in mid-January. NLMK USA almost immediately upped the ante, […]
NLMK USA has joined Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in raising sheet prices by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per ton), effective immediately. The steelmaker is also seeking a base price of $875 per ton for hot-rolled coil, $25 per ton more than the $850 per ton Cleveland-Cliffs is aiming for. “Orders received and not yet confirmed […]
US Steel Corp. has completed the foundation, along with the first placement of structural steel, at its direct-reduced (DR)-grade pellet production facility in Keewatin, Minn. Completion of the $150-million Keetac project is expected later this year, with first pellets produced in 2024, the company said. US Steel broke ground on the facility in Q3 2022, as […]
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. aims to increase spot prices for steel sheet by at least another $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt). The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the move was effective immediately and applied equally to hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated products. The company said it also set a minimum base price of $850 per ton for hot-rolled coil, […]
Hot-rolled coil prices have now risen for 10 consecutive weeks. Let’s put that in perspective. That’s a longer run than the price spike we saw following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February. It also marks the longest sheet price rally we’ve seen since the boom times of early 2021 – when a snapback in demand […]
Sheet prices rose again this week, continuing a rally that began shortly after Thanksgiving. SMU’s hot-rolled coil price stands at $780 per ton ($39 per cwt), up $20 per ton from $760 per ton last week and up $165 per ton from a 2022 low of $615 per ton recorded in November. HRC prices haven’t […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor Steel sheet price volatility has peaked in the US after record average week-on-week (WoW) price changes during 2022. In our view, prices will trade in a much narrower band over at least the next five years (barring any further black swan events) – […]