Both manufacturing companies and flat rolled steel service centers reported near unanimous support for higher spot pricing. In the process, it is Steel Market Update’s opinion the higher flat rolled and plate spot prices provided by the distributors also support the most recent steel price increase announcements by the flat rolled steel mills. Last week, […]
Steel Market Update was contacted this week by an analyst who questioned the accuracy of the American Iron and Steel Institute data published by SMU. He wondered how AISI calculates its weekly mill capacity utilization rates and whether their calculations account for idled furnace capacity. A close look at the AISI data shows the domestic […]
ArcelorMittal’s NAFTA segment saw crude steel production decrease 5.2 percent to 5.6 million metric tons in the fourth quarter due to operational issues in Mexico, planned maintenance at Dofasco, and a slower U.S. market. Steel shipments declined 8.9 percent to 4.2 million metric tons, primarily driven by lower volumes in flat and long products. Sales […]
Responding to strong demand in the New Year and the market’s apparent acceptance of higher price tags, the major mills have announced another round of price increases on plate and flat rolled products. For most mills, this is the fourth increase they’ve announced in the past three months. On Monday, Nucor’s Plate Mill Group announced […]
Steel Market Update publisher, John Packard, traded comments with a financial analysts who was of the opinion that demand was under duress and the future of the steel using markets was in doubt. This does not match our belief based on a review of the SMU Key Market Indicators. We are sharing this report with […]
In its year-end 2017 financial report, Nucor delivered its highest annual earnings since 2008. Consolidated net sales increased 25 percent to $20.25 billion, compared with $16.21 billion for fiscal 2016. Shipments to outside customers during 2017 totaled 26,492,000 tons, an increase of 9 percent from fiscal 2016. Average sales price per ton increased 15 percent. […]
The Nucor Sheet Mill Group informed customers on Friday of this past week, that it is raising base prices on new orders by a minimum of $30 per ton on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products. Nucor’s latest hike follows a $40 per ton increase the steelmaker announced on flat rolled spot prices early […]
The Nucor Sheet Mill Group informed customers today, Friday, that it is raising base prices on new orders by a minimum of $30 per ton on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products. Nucor’s latest hike follows a $40 per ton increase the steelmaker announced on flat rolled spot prices early this month. On Thursday, […]
West Coast steel mills California Steel Industries (CSI) and USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) announced further flat roll price increases yesterday, Jan. 24. Today, ArcelorMittal USA began advising their flat rolled customers of a change in their minimum base price levels on hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steels. CSI told customers that due to changing market […]
Steel Market Update forecast December 2017 flat rolled steel shipments from U.S. service centers would be 87,850 tons per day. The Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) reported last week that sheet distributors shipped 87,805 tons per day. We missed being perfect by 45 tons per day. Receipts coming into the service centers has been harder […]
Service center shipments in December were stronger than the seasonal norm, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis of Metals Service Center Institute data. Daily shipments in December were 11.8 percent lower than in November. On average since 2009, December shipments have decreased by 13.1 percent; therefore, these latest numbers were seasonally better than the […]
The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) broke through the $60 level on Dec. 29 for the first time since Dec. 18, 2014. It reached $64.22 on Jan. 12 before falling back to $63.82 on Jan. 16. The total number of operating rigs exploring for oil and gas increased by 15 in the week […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update receive reports on imports with macro data broken down by product at the national level. SMU also provides reports that detail the import tonnage received by district of entry and source nation, available here on our website. This new report from SMU takes the analysis even further. Using U.S. […]
Demand is good heading into 2018, mill prices are on the upswing and trade cases promise to keep low-priced imports at bay. So why aren’t distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market happier? Members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) reported that market conditions remain highly competitive despite price […]
Both the steel and aluminum sectors have made major strides in supplying automakers with new, strong-but-light materials to take weight out of vehicles and boost their miles per gallon while lowering harmful tailpipe emissions. But to meet the current federal requirements for 2025, which call for a fleetwide average of over 50 mpg, the auto […]
U.S. demand for steel sheet products continued to expand through November, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Apparent supply is a proxy for market demand. Demand momentum for sheet products in total was negative in the three months through […]
Imports of rolled steel into the United States have been on the decline since peaking in July, based on a three-month moving average of government import data through the end of 2017. In three months through December compared to three months through September, total rolled steel imports declined by 16.8 percent, while sheet products dropped […]
In Q1 2018, long product imports increased by 9.5 percent compared to Q4 2017. Total long product imports were down by 150,000 tons per month year over year on a three-month moving average (3MMA) basis, but there was a turn for the worse in the first quarter, according to Steel Market Update’s analysis of federal […]
In Q1 2018, tubular product imports increased by 3.8 percent compared to Q4 2017. Total rolled steel imports increased by 3.6 percent, and tubular products by 3.8 percent, in the three months through March compared to three months through December 2017, but on a year-over-year basis tubulars were up by 20.2 percent, according to Steel […]
Premium subscribers to Steel Market Update receive reports on imports with macro data broken down by product on the national level. SMU also provides reports that detail the import tonnage received by district of entry and source nation. This new report from SMU takes the analysis even further. Using U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) data, […]
This analysis breaks down the imported tonnage of six flat rolled products into the district of entry and the source country. We believe that misinformation (or lack of) about regional import volumes is often used to influence purchase decisions. Our intent with this analysis is to describe in detail what is going on in a […]
The January buy period saw ferrous scrap prices move significantly higher, lending support to recent mill price increases. While February is historically a down month for scrap, sources predict that February prices will be as high or even higher than January’s. January ferrous markets ended higher by $30 per gross ton for obsolete grades and […]
Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group has informed customers of a change in the index used to calculate scrap and raw material surcharges. It could affect steel pricing beginning with the January 2018 index settlement price, which determines the February 2018 Nucor surcharge for some customers. See the letter below:
Vietnam steelmakers are asking for government assistance in defending the industry from U.S. antidumping and countervailing investigations on galvanized and cold rolled steels. The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) has requested that the Ministry of Industry and Trade intervene, including filing a suit with the World Trade Organization to counter Department of Commerce actions that it […]
On Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, Nucor announced a $40 per ton price increase on all spot flat rolled products produced at their steel mills. Their announcement was quickly followed by similar announcements on hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steels (galvanized and Galvalume) by U.S. Steel, NLMK USA and AK Steel. On Friday of this […]
Following on the $40 per ton price hikes by most domestic mills earlier this week, ArcelorMittal USA announced the following minimum prices on its carbon steel sheet products today: hot rolled, $720/ton; cold rolled, $900/ton; and hot-dipped galvanized, $900/ton. The new prices are effective immediately on all new and unconfirmed orders with ArcelorMittal USA and […]
Key market indicators bode well for business conditions in the first quarter of 2018. Steel Market Update’s view of the present situation based on our examination of data released in December shows that 47.2 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance is within the historically normal band. […]
Flat rolled steel prices moved higher over the past week. Hot rolled offers are reaching (or exceeding) $700 per ton, while cold rolled and coated offers are moving into the low to mid $800s (base pricing, before extras). Steel buyers seemed resigned to paying higher numbers with many waiting to see what will happen with […]
Starting the New Year with a new price, California Steel Industries (CSI) and USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) announced $30 per ton price increases today, Jan. 2. In a letter to customers, CSI stated it is increasing transaction prices on hot rolled, hot rolled pickled and oiled, cold rolled and galvanized flat roll by $30 per ton, […]
The American Iron and Steel Institute welcomed Canada’s integrated steel company Stelco to its membership at AISI’s recent board meeting in Washington, D.C. “With its significant presence in North America, Stelco will be a great partner in our continued advocacy to fight unfairly traded foreign imports and level the playing field for the North American […]