Following on last week’s announcement by West Coast mills, Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group today also announced a $40 per ton ($2/cwt) increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products, effective immediately on new and unconfirmed orders. The price hike comes as no surprise as Nucor and other mills east of the Rockies were […]
Following on last week’s announcement by West Coast mills, Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group today also announced a $40 per ton ($2/cwt) increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products, effective immediately on new and unconfirmed orders. The price hike comes as no surprise as Nucor and other mills east of the Rockies were […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) and USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) announced price increases of $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) on Monday, hoping to stem the slide in flat-rolled steel prices that began last summer. The announcements do not include plate. In its Jan. 21 letter to customers, CSI stated that it is opening its order book for flat-rolled […]
U.S. ports reported a record year for cargo volume in 2018. The Port of Los Angeles broke its all-time cargo record for the third time in a row, moving 9,458,749 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units the size of a container), a 1.2 percent increase from 2017. The Port of New Orleans reported a new record and a […]
California Steel Industries (CSI) and USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) announced price increases of $40 per ton on Monday, hoping to stem the slide in flat-rolled steel prices that began last summer. The announcements do not include plate. In its Jan. 21 letter to customers, CSI stated that it is opening its order book for flat-rolled orders […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores Scrap prices in the U.S. fell $30 /lt m/m in January, the first time since 2006 that prices have declined in the month. The fall was also the largest December to January decrease in at least two decades for obsolete grades. The unusual decline occurred because supply outpaced demand […]
This article on the competitiveness of steel against other products was originally produced last week for Steel Market Update Premium members. We want our entire readership to review the analysis done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and then analyzed by Peter Wright on our staff. If you would like information about upgrading to Premium […]
The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil has recovered from its recent low in December. The spot price of WTI FOB Cushing, Okla., recovered to $50.31 on Jan. 14 from its recent low of $44.48 on Dec. 27. WTI had a recent peak on Oct. 3 of $76.40 per barrel. The total number […]
Steel became less competitive in 2018 against aluminum, plastic and wood, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data. The cost of carbon cold rolled sheet was up more than twice as much as aluminum sheet, and steel pipe was up by nine times as much as plastic […]
When we go out for flat rolled and plate steel spot pricing, we do so in a number of ways in order to maximize the number of responses. This week SMU sent out an email inquiry requesting information on pricing, but also on lead times, inventories and foreign steel offers, and we solicited general open […]
The North American steel sheet market in 2018 was heavily influenced by effects from the Section 232 tariffs. These tariffs greatly increased U.S. sheet prices, while at the same time helped to further reduce imports. Our forecast today calls for a more measured rate of increase for underlying industrial growth, while prices will more closely […]
The new year has gotten off to a positive start, though declining steel prices remain a concern for members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International, who supply steel products to the HVAC market. As one HARDI member commented during the trade group’s monthly conference call on Tuesday, “Some of us feel like Alabama’s […]
Perhaps it’s because the year started out with so much promise that the end of 2018 seemed so uninspiring. On balance, most in the steel business would call 2018 a good year, some even a great year. But few look forward to 2019 with the same optimism and confidence they felt a year ago at […]
By CRU Analysts Laima Balse and Director Paul Robinson Prices for all major commodities in the CRU price basket, except for U.S. steel, declined during 2018. There were a few factors that caused this downwards price trend and market volatility. This overview looks across the commodity groups at the common trends affecting the industry, and […]
The service center sector will witness the return of a familiar old name in the new year. Norfolk Iron & Metal Co. has closed on its acquisition of O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals (OFR), which will now go to market under its former moniker Metalwest. Norfolk Iron purchased OFR from O’Neal Industries, based in Birmingham, Ala. […]
Twas the night before Christmas 2017 Steel buyers were happy All nestled in their beds No thoughts of turmoil running about in their heads Little did they know Little did they dread 2018 was staring at them While dreams of sugar plums danced in their heads The last three months saw prices move […]
Twas the night before Christmas 2017 Steel buyers were happy All nestled in their beds No thoughts of turmoil running about in their heads Little did they know Little did they dread 2018 was staring at them While dreams of sugar plums danced in their heads The last three months saw prices move […]
Editor’s note: Steel Market Update is sharing the following Premium content with all its readers in this issue. For more information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The U.S. dollar now has the highest value on the foreign exchange markets in over 16 years. In the last month, the dollar strengthened […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive members in this issue. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has declined by $25.33 per barrel since Oct. 3. The price of natural gas is surging. The spot price of West Texas Intermediate […]
Through October 2018, of the total cold rolled sheet and strip imports into the U.S., only 2.8 percent was strip, while 44.3 percent of the CR sheet imports were >1 to 3mm thick and 49.8 percent was full hard. Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update receive reports on imports broken down into district of entry […]
Demand for long products is booming, plate products are doing OK, sheet products are flat and tubulars are cratering. This analysis by SMU staff is based on data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The analysis summarizes total steel supply by product from 2003 through October […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories through October. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through October and in 12 months through October for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic […]
By CRU Principal Analyst Josh Spoores, from CRU’s Steel Sheet Products Monitor The steel sheet market in North America is starting the second half of the year off with the same primary trends seen in the past few quarters: rising prices due to strong demand and supply that continues to be affected by unplanned disruptions. […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: In the week following the G20 summit meeting in Buenos Aires, there is more uncertainty than ever about the U.S.-China negotiations over tariffs. Early in the week, President Trump moved the deadline for agreement between the U.S. and […]
Trade attorney and Steel Market Update contributor Lewis Leibowitz offers the following update on events in Washington: In the week following the G20 summit meeting in Buenos Aires, there is more uncertainty than ever about the U.S.-China negotiations over tariffs. Early in the week, President Trump moved the deadline for agreement between the U.S. and […]
Steel Market Update is sharing this Premium content with Executive members in this issue. For more information about upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. This early look at November import license data shows that total rolled product imports declined by 17.3 percent year over year, calculated as a three-month moving average (3MMA). Imports of […]
Andy Gross is placing a big bet on his company and on a new community—a wager he is confident will pay off. The president of Alliance Steel is making a $19 million investment to move his service center operation some 40 miles east from Chicago’s south side to Gary, Ind. He hopes to be operational […]
Canada’s Algoma Steel Inc. has finally fully emerged from Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) protection after three long years. The company announced on Friday that it had successfully acquired all the remaining assets of Essar Steel Algoma and is ready to tackle the market as a financially stable entity. “When we take a look around […]
It has been a beautiful weekend in Austin, Texas, where I spoke earlier today (Sunday) at the annual HARDI conference. I spoke at the steel council, which consists of HVAC wholesalers who sell galvanized sheet/coil products, manufacturers supplying the wholesalers and a couple of service centers who sell galvanized sheet and coil to the wholesalers. […]
This is the first time we have done this analysis since our April publication and we were surprised that the results for sheet and strip products weren’t as good as we expected. Our analysis is based on data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC). The analysis […]