Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For more information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. This analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into their district of entry and source nation. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about local import volume […]
Imports of steel rolled products have declined every month since May 2018, year over year, with the greatest decline in January 2020, according to government data. Total rolled product imports in January were down by 35.5 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 27.8 percent decrease in November on the same […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Bulk Ferro Alloys Monitor The steel market got a stronger than expected start to the year, lifting year-to-date U.S. steel mill capability utilization to 82.1 percent—the highest level since May 2019, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. The Institute for Supply Management reported that the […]
By CRU Senior Analysts Dina Yu and Helen O’Cleary, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor The outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Wuhan has delayed the post-New Year restart in most Chinese mainland provinces, with the exception of Tibet, Xinjiang and Gansu. Sadly, the death toll and infection rate continue to rise, so restrictions remain in place […]
Key Market Indicators show that the improvement in market trends that occurred in December continued into January. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has reported in detail during the month. It summarizes 36 data streams that describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance for […]
By Principal Analyst James Campbell, from CRU’s Steel Plate Products Market Outlook The coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has led to Chinese New Year holidays being extended and transportation restrictions introduced in order to contain the spread of the virus. Steel demand is normally weak during this period, but production continues as usual. Every day of […]
Steel imports into the United States in 2019, totaling 27.9 million tons, showed a decline of 17.3 percent versus 2018, and were at their lowest level since 2010 as the economy was recovering from the recession. Finished steel imports of 21.0 million tons were down 18.1 percent for the year. Finished steel imports held a […]
On Thursday I provided some of the feedback I was getting from those involved in both the sales and purchasing of flat rolled steel into the North American markets. The comments continued to flow in and here are a couple more that I found interesting: The general manager of a service center provided these insights […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, Principal Economist Lisa Morrison, Principal Analyst Josh Spoores and Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Iron Ore Market Outlook In a recent insight series, CRU highlighted some of the challenges facing the three U.S. iron ore producers, Cleveland-Cliffs, U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal. The location of the mines and pellet plants […]
Acknowledging that “it’s a lot easier to sell steel when the price is going up,” distributors of steel products to the HVAC sector reported strong sales in the first month of the new year despite galvanized base prices that have risen by about $130 in the past 12 weeks to the current $800 per ton. […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive-level members. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Based on Steel Market Update’s analysis of 10 indicators in January, the decline in U.S. manufacturing continues. This report summarizes 10 data streams that describe the state of U.S. […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive-level members. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Crude oil production set another all-time record in the U.S. in October, but the rig count continues to decline. On Jan. 3, oil prices surged briefly on news of […]
Steel Market Update’s analysis of flat rolled and plate inventories and shipments for the month of December: Flat Rolled = 62.9 Shipping Days of Supply Plate Steels = 60.4 Shipping Days of Supply Flat Rolled Service center flat rolled steel inventories increased 5.7 percent month on month while shipments fell 10.1 percent, according to adjusted […]
The composite producer price index of commodities peaked in October 2018, then through December 2019 declined by 2.6 percent. This Steel Market Update report is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and is intended to provide subscribers with a view of the competitive position of sheet steel, aluminum, plastic and wood. The analysis […]
December’s licensed import volume for rolled steel products was the lowest since December 2009. Year over year, total rolled product imports in December were down by 27.8 percent on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis. This follows the 27.4 percent decrease in November, 17.7 percent decrease in October and 15.5 percent decline in September on […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update have reports available on our website that break out the import tonnage into district of entry and source nation for six sheet and plate product categories. This report takes the total national tonnage of hot rolled and breaks it down into product detail. Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) […]
Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) data, Steel Market Update has taken the import tonnage of cold rolled sheet and broken it down into coil and leveled, then our report breaks out four thickness ranges and identifies how much was full hard, annealed and high strength. Through November 2019, of the total cold rolled sheet […]
By CRU Analyst James Campbell, from the Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook 2019 was a bad year for the steel industry. Prices and margins collapsed and, outside of China, demand contracted. However, the combination of a new restocking cycle and reduced output in many markets allowed producers to raise prices and margins at the end […]
As widely expected, Nucor was the first to announce another $40 increase in flat rolled steel prices Wednesday, followed closely by ArcelorMittal USA, NLMK USA, California Steel Industries, USS-POSCO Industries and Algoma Steel. This represents the fifth round of price hikes by the major mills since late October totaling around $190 per ton. In a […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 5.9 percent m/m to 223.5 (see chart) following price increases in nearly every market, the highest level since August 2019. Solid scrap demand has offset better than seasonally typical supply due to mild winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere. […]
By CRU Research Analyst Eduardo Tinti and Senior Analyst Erik Hedborg, from CRU’s Iron Ore Costs Following suspensions of iron ore production in Minas Gerais, Vale’s Northern System located in the Pará state will account for a growing share of the company’s total production. Despite some supply issues in 2019, production is ramping up and […]
As widely expected, Nucor was the first to announce another $40 increase in flat rolled steel prices today. Other steelmakers are likely to follow suit. This represents the fifth round of price hikes by the major mills since late October totaling around $190 per ton. In a letter dated Jan. 8, Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group […]
By CRU Analysts, from CRU’s Bulk Ferroalloys Monitor U.S. finished steel prices have risen following price increase announcements that found support from service center restocking. Adding to this price support was the scrap market, where scarcer supply and increased mill demand put prices on an upward trajectory. Some steel products have enjoyed quicker price gains […]
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive level members. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Key Market Indicators showed a substantial improvement in market trends in the December data. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has […]
Key Market Indicators showed a substantial improvement in market trends in the December data. This report is designed to be a big picture summary of data SMU has reported in detail during the month. It summarizes 36 data streams that describe the state of the steel market and provide forward guidance for steel buyers and […]
By CRU Chief Economist Jumana Saleheen, from the CRU Steel Sheet Products Market Outlook Global Economic Outlook: 2019 has been an eventful year. Many decisions were taken, including tariffs and monetary policy easing. Other decisions were put-off, such as Brexit and auto tariffs. Looking back to our expectations at the start of 2019, four things […]
By CRU Analyst Sam Grant, from CRU’s Zinc Monitor The North American market (U.S., Canada and Mexico) accounts for approximately 9.6 percent of global refined zinc demand. This year, we have seen a sharp slowdown in both global trade and industrial production, with the North American region experiencing its slowest rate of IP growth since […]
Based on Steel Market Update’s analysis of 10 indicators, there is a faint glow in the manufacturing environment. This report summarizes 10 data streams that describe the state of U.S. manufacturing in general and the steel industry in particular. We have reported on most of these separately in our Steel Market Update publications, and therefore […]
Crude oil prices broke out to the upside in December, but the rig count continues to decline. U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, and many others, exceeded imports in September by 89,000 barrels a day, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Nov. 28. Thus, the U.S. […]
U.S. Steel announced today that it intends to “indefinitely idle” a significant portion of its Great Lakes Works operation near Detroit. The decision was made to better align the company with its three core flat rolled operations and advance its “best of both strategy” as an integrated and EAF company. U.S. Steel expects to begin idling […]