By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 14.4% m/m in March to 354.4, bouncing back above levels seen in January. China’s return to the steel market following New Year holiday celebrations there helped lift steel and scrap prices in Asia, while seasonally constrained […]
Ferrous scrap prices have traded flat to down in April following a big jump in March. Steel Market Update sources report the price for obsolete grades down $20/GT, while prime grades traded sideways. The price for shredded scrap is about $430/GT delivered to the mills in the Midwest and South. Prime grades are around $130-140 […]
Steel prices continued their upwards climb in the month of February, fueled by strong demand and tight supply. Hot rolled steel prices surpassed $1,200 per ton in the third week of the month, reaching levels never before seen. Steel Market Update’s hot rolled price index reached $1,210 per ton by the end of February, up […]
Among steelmaking raw materials, the prices of iron ore, pig iron and steel scrap moderated through February following large gains seen in previous months. Prices declined as much as 16% month-over-month for those three products, but remain 34-57% higher compared to three months prior and as much as 87% higher than levels one year ago. […]
Multiple major North American automakers have or will temporarily halt production because of a semiconductor shortage, something that could have an impact on steel and scrap prices. General Motors will effectively stop production at three assembly plants–one each in the United States, Canada and Mexico–next week because of a semiconductor shortage, the company confirmed. GM […]
Multiple major North American automakers have or will temporarily halt production because of a semiconductor shortage, something that could have an impact on steel and scrap prices. General Motors will effectively stop production at three assembly plants–one each in the United States, Canada and Mexico–next week because of a semiconductor shortage, the company confirmed. GM […]
Among steelmaking raw materials, the prices of iron ore, pig iron and scrap saw large gains in January compared to months prior, up as much as 86 percent year over year. Coking coal prices, which rebounded compared to recent months, were still down 9 percent in January versus prices one year ago. Zinc prices have declined […]
Stronger longer than many anticipated…. An interesting comment from a couple of service centers today, one in the South and another in the Midwest. These two companies agree that the last $100 to $150 per ton in price increases are from panicked buyers. Once those panic buyers are removed from the market…then what? I have […]
Earlier this week I received a note from one of our readers regarding the plate price index and the changes we recently made to the index (FOB Mill vs. Delivered pricing). We were asked how we are accomplishing this, and how do our members reconcile the historical data that was based on delivered pricing versus […]
Earlier this week I received a note from one of our readers regarding the plate price index and the changes we recently made to the index (FOB Mill vs. Delivered pricing). We were asked how we are accomplishing this, and how do our members reconcile the historical data that was based on delivered pricing versus […]
By CRU Research Analyst Yusu Mao, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service Last week, Turkish scrap import prices fell for the first time since September 2020. CRU recorded two deals and assessed HMS 1/2 80:20 at $446 /t CFR (- $34 /t w/w, -$27 /t m/m). The enlarged spread between HMS 1/2 80:20 and shredded […]
By CRU Analyst Dave Thewlis, from CRU’s Steel Long Products Monitor U.S. long product prices continued to surge into the month of February due to ongoing market tightness and strong demand. Imports remain too costly to seriously consider for the majority of buyers, given high international steel prices coupled with costly shipping rates and tariffs. Rebar […]
Among steelmaking raw materials, the prices of iron ore, pig iron, scrap, zinc and aluminum continue to see large gains in December compared to months prior, up as much as 65 percent year over year. Iron ore, pig iron and scrap prices have seen significant increases compared to the late summer months. Coking coal prices […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 20.2% m/m in December to 275.2. This large increase was driven by a rapid acceleration in global finished steel pricing. Even with this large m/m increase for December, we again expect metallics prices to rise in […]
Among steelmaking raw materials, the prices of pig iron, scrap, zinc and aluminum have seen big gains in the past three months. Pig iron and scrap prices have seen significant increases compared to the late summer months. Iron ore and coking coal prices had widened through mid-September but have since declined, with coking coal prices […]
Despite some initial concern that the ferrous scrap market would dip in November, scrap dealers anticipate a “strong sideways” price trend next month. “Export sales have been voluminous over the last two weeks, and prices are now about $10 off the lowest levels they fell to over the last month or so,” said a dealer […]
Following big jumps in December and January, ferrous scrap prices are expected to moderate in February. Steel Market Update sources predict obsolete grades could drop by $30-50/GT and prime grades by $10-20/GT due primarily to the large amount of scrap offered to the mills in January and the weakening export market. “Scrap dealers are lowering […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Steel Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) was unchanged m/m in October at 225.6 following large price increases the prior month. Supply in many markets became more available as prices rose, and this helped prevent additional upside pressure. For November, market sentiment is that prices […]
Ferrous scrap prices for October traded sideways to slightly lower in most parts of the country, surprising the experts who had been expecting scrap to move higher for another month. “October sales have brought stable pricing for the majority in the Ohio Valley and Midwest. There seems to be a balance between supply and demand as […]
Looking at the month-on-month changes in steelmaking raw materials costs, the prices of iron ore, pig iron and zinc have continued to experience noticeable gains, a pattern seen since the beginning of Q3 2020. As expected, scrap prices have bounced back after the downturn seen in the summer months, providing support to higher finished steel […]
By CRU Prices Analyst Estelle Tran, from CRU’s Global Steel Trade Service A combination of increased seasonal demand, low service center inventories, unplanned outages, spike in scrap prices and government restrictions on Brazilian slab imports have added fuel to the usual seasonal uptick and turned it into a surge. After reaching a bottom in mid-August, […]
Ferrous scrap prices exceeded even the bullish expectations heading into September as the market settled up $20-35/GT on prime scrap and up $30-55/GT on obsolescent grades, depending on the region of the country. Sources expect prices to move still higher in October, lending support to higher finished steel prices. Demand from U.S. mills picked up […]
Among steelmaking raw materials, the prices of iron ore, pig iron and zinc have seen big gains in the past three months. Scrap prices have been challenged, but saw some improvement in August, notably in the coastal regions, and are expected to rise in September, lending support to higher finished steel prices. Table 1 summarizes […]
Strong demand in China and easing of coronavirus restrictions in various parts of the world are lending support to global raw materials prices. Ferrous scrap prices are the notable exception as supplies have increased at a greater rate then demand, sending prices for both prime and obsolete grades downward. Table 1 summarizes the price changes […]
Ferrous scrap prices most likely will move lower in July as scrap supplies are increasing at a greater pace than steel demand. Finished steel prices have shown some weakness lately as the market struggles to get back on track and are unlikely to get any help from scrap next month. Ferrous scrap prices rose $30-40 […]
Raw materials prices have seen varying trends in the past month or two as the coronavirus has had varying effects on different commodities in different parts of the world. Iron ore prices have stayed relatively high due to strong demand in China, where COVID-19 restrictions have been eased. Virus-related disruptions to Brazilian mining operations have […]
By CRU Senior Analyst Ryan McKinley, from CRU’s Metallics Monitor The CRU metallics price indicator (CRUmpi) increased slightly in June, rising by 2.9 percent m/m to 208.3. The reduction in lockdowns and other Covid-19-related restrictions across the globe allowed scrap to become more readily available as demand increased in major importing markets. In the near term, we […]
Ferrous scrap prices, which were widely expected to move higher again in June, traded “mostly sideways” as supplies increased while demand continued to lag, report Steel Market Update sources. In May, ferrous scrap prices settled up $30 per ton for shredded and up $40-50 per ton for busheling as coronavirus shutdowns disrupted scrap generation and […]
Ferrous scrap prices for Detroit came out late this afternoon. Prime grades (busheling and bundles) were up $10 per gross ton. There was no change to cut grades, and shredded scrap was down $10/GT. On Wednesday, June 3, we will host our 9th SMU Steel Community Chat webinar. We will be discussing trade with trade […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in weaker global demand for steelmaking raw materials. However, the cost of producing and delivering many of these commodities has also fallen. Strong demand in China is helping to buoy prices for iron ore and other materials. Table 1 summarizes the price changes through May 21 of the five materials […]