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 […]
Both Steel Market Update and the CRU Group forecast lower steel prices next year. With a new North America free trade agreement soon to be signed, the U.S. is likely to lift or modify the Section 232 tariffs on Canada and Mexico, opening the borders to more imports and adding to the downward pressure on […]
Editor’s note: The following global perspective was contributed by the CRU Group’s international team of steel analysts. Steel sheet prices are trending downward in most parts of the world. North America Sheet prices in the U.S. Midwest market continued to decline with HR and CR coil prices falling the most. Declines have come alongside weak […]
Nucor is increasing its presence in Mexico with the acquisition of Corporacion POK, a fully integrated precision castings company with a facility in Guadalajara. “Our company has had a presence in Mexico for more than a decade. We know the market and the customers there. This acquisition supports Nucor’s strategy in Mexico, which is focused […]
Steel Dynamics made big news on Monday, announcing it will construct a new $1.8 billion electric arc furnace flat roll steel mill in the United States. The mill will have an annual production capacity of approximately 3 million tons and the capability to produce the latest in advanced high-strength steels. The facility will include value-added […]
Nucor’s $650 million investment to expand the production capability of its Ghent, Ky., mill will transform the former Gallatin Steel plant into an ultra-modern “quality strip production” plant or QSP, claims Danieli, the Italian company that will design and install the new mill equipment. The project will nearly double the annual production capability of Nucor […]
Steel buyers can be fickle people. They are tasked with keeping their company in product, and that those purchases be competitively priced at the time they are used. This is a daunting task when markets ebb and flow, and even more difficult when the government decides to become a major player in determining who will […]
Norfolk Iron & Metal Co., a full-line steel service center, and O’Neal Industries Inc. (ONI), the largest family-owned group of metals service centers in the United States, have entered into a definitive agreement in which Norfolk Iron will acquire O’Neal Flat Rolled Metals, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ONI. The companies expect to close the […]
Steel Facing Stiff Competition from Other Products This article is regularly published for our Premium users, but we decided to share it with our entire readership this month. If you are interested in upgrading to a Premium subscription, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475. Steel is becoming less competitive compared to aluminum, plastic and wood. […]
This report examines the import share of sheet, plate, long and tubular products and 16 subcategories through September. Table 1 shows total supply to the market in three months through September and in 12 months through September for the four product groups and the 16 subcategories. Supply to the market is the total of domestic […]
Steady demand in the HVAC sector is offsetting concerns about declining steel prices, leaving members of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International hopeful about their prospects in 2019, reported HARDI members during the trade group’s monthly conference call on Tuesday. The distributors of galvanized steel products have seen prices slide by about $5/cwt since […]
Olympic Steel executives reported record results in the third-quarter and hopes for more of the same next year, with the possible support of a new federal infrastructure bill. “Based on the results of this week’s election, we are optimistic our nation’s pro-growth agenda remains on track and that the industrial sector’s recovery will continue to […]
Total rolled product imports declined by 20.4 percent in October, versus the same month last year, measured as a three-month moving average, but the effects of Section 232 are still not clear. This early look at October’s import volume is based on Commerce Department license data (see explanation below). Figure 1 shows the tonnage of […]
Except for plate, which held its own at around $1,000 a ton, steel prices generally weakened further in October, continuing a decline that began this summer. Steel Market Update data in the table below shows that the benchmark hot rolled coil price dipped below $800 per ton after sliding by about $45 during the month. […]
CRU Steel Analyst Ryan McKinley offers the following brief analyses of steel prices in Europe, China and Asia and the factors that have influenced them this week. Europe Sheet prices in Germany have remained unchanged this week. Last week’s Euroblech trade fair has not brought any immediate change to the spot market, though this may […]
Reliance Steel & Aluminum reported its second highest quarterly net sales in the company’s history. Third-quarter net sales jumped 21.4 percent year-over-year to $2.97 billion, down just 0.5 percent from the record set in the second quarter at $2.99 billion. Reliance net income for the quarter of $148.2 million was impacted by a $36.8 million […]
As expected in a market where foreign suppliers must pay a 25 percent tariff (50 percent for those in Turkey), steel imports into the United States are down 11 percent for the year to date. Unexpected were the increases in imports of hot rolled sheet and plate. Steel Market Update’s analysis of Commerce Department data […]
SSAB Americas and Nucor both announced a $40 per ton increase in the price of plate products this week. SSAB Americas informed customers on Monday, Oct. 22, that it is increasing transaction prices on plate products by a minimum of $40 per ton, effective immediately for all non-contract orders acknowledged for shipment the week of […]
The Nucor Plate Group announced today, Oct. 23, that it is raising transaction prices on carbon and alloy plate and heat-treated plate by $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt). The increase takes effect immediately on all new orders promised on or after Jan. 1, 2019. All published extras will be applied. Nucor’s last price hike on plate […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update receive reports on imports broken down into district of entry and source nation. This report takes the regional analysis to the level of product detail. Our intent is to report on HR and CR sheet in alternate months in the rationale that the finer the detail steel buyers have […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update have access to reports on our website that break out the import tonnage into district of entry and source nation for six sheet and plate categories. SMU has now developed reports that drill down the HRC and CRC into product detail both nationally and for each district. We report […]
A strong economy and equally strong steel demand propelled Nucor Corp. earnings growth in the third quarter. Nucor reported earnings of $676.7 million in the third quarter, which included a non-cash impairment charge of $110.0 million related to its natural gas well assets. In comparison, second quarter net earnings were $683.2 and third quarter 2017 […]
The flat rolled mills announced a price hike last week. This was at the same time Steel Market Update sources were advising of $38.00/cwt ($760 per ton) out of more than one domestic steel mill. The increase, announced initially by Nucor, was seen as an attempt to dry up the sub-$800 offers and put a […]
With the market sending mixed signals, distributors of HVAC products are keeping inventories lean as they wait to see if the price increase just announced by the steel mills gains any traction. “You can make a case for prices to go either way,” said one member of the Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) […]
It is always a struggle to find the proper footing after the domestic mills make a price announcement that, on its face, appears to be a way of stopping the sub-$800 offers and put a floor (however temporary) to the market. To me, it is quite telling when one or two mills that normally follow […]
Canada will implement provisional safeguard measures on steel imports effective Oct. 25. Tariffs of 25 percent will be applied when products exceed the current average import level. The action is in response to Section 232 tariffs and quotas imposed by the United States on steel and aluminum. Canada hopes to avoid becoming a dumping ground […]
Imports of other metallic coated sheet have declined in all regions in 2018. Each month, Steel Market Update produces an import analysis by region for two of the six flat rolled product groups (HRC, CRC, HDG, OMC, CTL plate and coiled plate). This month, the focus is on coated products. The intent of these regional […]
The Great Lakes region has received the greatest volume of hot-dipped galvanized sheet imports so far in 2018. Each month, Steel Market Update produces an import analysis by region for two of the six flat rolled product groups (HRC, CRC, HDG, OMC, CTL plate and coiled plate). This month, the focus is on coated products. […]
On Wednesday of this week, Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group announced a $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt) price hike on flat rolled steel products produced by the mill. The price hike affects only spot tons and not contract orders, which tend to be tied to a flat rolled steel price index. In an Oct. 10 letter to […]