Tag: steel

Nucor said on Thursday afternoon it expects higher profits in the first quarter vs. the previous quarter but lower than a year earlier.

President Biden said on Thursday that it’s “vital” for U.S. Steel to remain an American steel company.

Steel buyers found mills more willing to negotiate spot pricing on the products SMU tracks with the exception of hot rolled, according to our most recent survey data.

Steel mill lead times were flat to slightly up, according to our market survey this week.

Join SMU’s next Community Chat webinar with Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries – the largest independent steel pipe and tube manufacturer in North America. The webinar will be on Wednesday, March 20, at 11 a.m. ET. It’s free for all to attend. A recording will be available to SMU members. You can register here.

US hot-rolled coil (HRC) remains more expensive than offshore hot band, even as domestic prices remain under pressure. The premium domestic product had over imports for roughly five months now remains near parity as tags abroad and stateside inch down.

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices has narrowed for the third consecutive month in March, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

The ferrous scrap market experienced a sharp decline for March shipments. Prime scrap fell $60-70 per gross ton (gt) while shredded and other obsolete grades declined $40-50/gt. It seems these prices were accepted in the trade by dealers across the continent.

US senators have introduced the "Stop Mexico’s Steel Surge Act," which seeks to reimpose 25% Section 232 tariffs on Mexican steel imports.

Sheet and plate prices were mostly flat this week – largely in response to the mill price blitz from last week – pausing the downtrend they’d been on for the better part of 2024.

What does it mean to be a domestic steelmaker in the 21st century? Of course, that idea is open to interpretation. The vibrancy of the US industry is a testament to that. Between integrateds, EAFs, how to approach decarbonization, downstream ventures, American innovation goes in many directions.

The apparent supply of steel in the US increased in January, rising to a five-month high, according to data compiled from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

AM/NS Calvert CEO Chuck Greene has announced his retirement as CEO, effective March 15.

US ferrous scrap prices fell steeply in March for HMS, shredded, and prime scrap, sources told SMU.

US steel exports jumped to 770,649 short tons (st) in January, rising 25% from the 12-month low recorded one month prior.

Estelle Tran, prices lead at CRU, Michael Cowden, managing editor at SMU and Josh Spoores, principal analyst at CRU, will be the featured speakers on a special CRU webinar. It will take place on Thursday, March 21, at 10 a.m. ET. You can learn more and register here.

Domestic production of raw steel inched higher last week, recovering after declining the week prior, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

As I see it, the market looked to be a perfect storm for consumers this month while two large steel mills tried to put a floor on hot-rolled coil (HRC). One source speculated that “flat rolled mills coordinated their downtime and will take out 250,000 tons of capacity in April,” which made them attempt to put a bottom on flat-rolled product.

U.S. Steel has announced an investment in Freespace Robotics, a Pittsburgh-based manufacturer of robotic storage and retrieval systems.

Reaction to the price announcements last week by domestic mills varied just a little depending on who you were speaking to. I heard rumblings before the announcements that a price hike of $100 per short ton (st) was coming. After the announcements were made, I had some questions as to whether they were increases at all.

In 2023, Mexico emerged as the largest trading partner with the United States—larger than Canada, and even China. The growth in trade with Mexico has been truly historic—Mexico has never captured the title of the largest exporter to the US. At $475 billion for the year, the value of US imports from Mexico exceeded that […]

The LME three-month price continued to strengthen through Friday, March 8, defending its position close to its five-week high and rising further to $2,262 per metric ton (mt), up 0.3%, on the day. Gains were also noted over the last week in other industrial metals, including copper, zinc, and lead. The price gains appeared to be due to weakness in the US dollar, which fell sharply against a basket of currencies after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that rate cuts were still expected this year.

The latest steel import license data from the US Commerce Department shows 2.39 million short tons (st) of steel entered the country in February 2024, down 6% from the month prior.

A weak start for sheet demand this year has continued to weigh on global prices. European demand outside of the renewable energy sector was weak enough that market participants said mills are likely to cut output further after several furnace restarts earlier in the year. In China, demand has also failed to pick up after recent holidays, and even government announcements of more stimulus measures during the country’s “Two Sessions” meetings failed to boost market confidence.

The premium plate prices have held over hot-rolled coil (HRC) are nowhere near recent highs seen in 2022 but remain higher compared to historical levels.

The US plate market has been largely quiet over the past week since Nucor’s $90-per-ton price cut at the close of February.

US and Canadian rig counts both eased this week, according to the latest release from Baker Hughes on Mar. 8. Recall that US rigs had reached a 5-month high last week.

The Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) slipped in February from the previous month, according to the latest Dodge Construction Network (DCN) data.

ArcelorMittal is targeting a minimum base price for hot-rolled (HR) coil of $825 per ton. The Luxembourg-based steelmaker said the new floor price was effective immediately in a letter to its commercial team dated Friday, March 8.

US steel mill shipments increased in January vs. December but fell from a year earlier,