I’m trying to make sure this is not a TL;DR Final Thoughts. As a journalism school professor once told me, ‘No one but your mom reads more than 1,000 words.’ Also, as the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand as well. With that in mind, below are a couple of charts that I think go a long way toward explaining how prices and lead times have been relatively stable despite concerns about demand.
Steel mill lead times inched up this week for most sheet and plate products, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
Negotiation rates have consistently been in the 70-80% range for over two months, relatively strong in comparison to levels seen across the past year.
SMU’s monthly review provides a summary of important steel market metrics for the previous month. This latest report includes data updated through Sept. 30.
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, Oct. 16, at 11 a.m. ET. It’s free to attend. A recording will be available only to SMU subscribers.
Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to imports and evolving market events.
Steel prices ticked higher this week for most of the sheet products SMU tracks, back up to highs last recorded in June and July. Meanwhile, plate prices edged lower following three weeks of stability.
Bull Moose Tube Co. (BMT) will expand its steel pipe and structure operations with a $25 million plant in Gerald, Mo., according to The Economic Times.
Nucor is closing its Nucor Tubular Products Chicago facility and will be laying off 47 workers.
Domestic raw steel mill production declined last week to levels not seen since early last year, according to the latest figures released from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Grand Steel has acquired a new toll processing facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., marking the third location for the flat-rolled steel service center.
Drilling activity eased in the US last week, while Canadian counts increased, according to the latest data release from Baker Hughes.
SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices remain in positive territory and continue to indicate optimism amongst steel buyers.
The price gap between US cold-rolled (CR) coil and offshore product has shrunk slightly this week ended Sept. 27 as stateside tags edged down. The premium slipped moderately but remains well ahead of the 10-month low from late July.
Over three quarters of the steel buyers participating in our market survey this week reported that mills are negotiable on new order prices
Steel mill output around the world totaled 144.8 million metric tons (mt) in August, the lowest monthly rate of 2024.
SMU’s steel price indices were mixed this week as the market seeks direction. All of our indices have fluctuated within relatively narrow ranges across September.
Flack Global Metals (FGM) Founder and CEO Jeremy Flack will sit down with SMU for a Community Chat webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 11 am ET. The live webinar is free for anyone to attend. A recording will be available only to SMU subscribers.
A transformer caught fire at U.S. Steel’s Midwest Plant in Portage, Ind., on Sunday.
Nucor’s weekly consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil increased $10 per short ton (st) from last week to $730/st as of Monday, Sept. 23.
It’s officially fall. And here’s a funny thing about steel prices in the fall over the last few years – they tend to move in the opposite direction of the leaves. SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price averaged $676 per short ton (st) in September 2023. That figure increased to $1,035/st in December 2023, a gain of 53% percent. (You can follow along with our pricing tool.)
US presidential campaigns frequently sport an “air of unreality.” No more so than the 2024 campaign, where superlatives fly around like mosquitos. Steel trade has been a feature of political discourse for at least half a century now. Just last week, it proceeded to a new level of “unreality.” Four senators - Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) - wrote a “bipartisan” letter attacking Mexican exports of steel to the United States. They framed it as a “surge” in US steel imports from Mexico. To address this “surge,” the Senators urge the imposition of 25% tariffs on all steel imports from Mexico.
The premium galvanized coil prices carry over hot-rolled (HR) coil continues to shrink, according to SMU price indices.
The latest Federal Reserve data paints a healthy and stable manufacturing sector. Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members.
U.S. Steel expects third-quarter adjusted earnings of approximately $300 million, according to figures released on Thursday. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said the result was in line with prior guidance and came despite “challenging pricing dynamics.” The company also said the third quarter likely reflected a “bottoming steel price environment.”
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to imports and evolving market events.
SMU’s steel price indices were steady to higher this week. Each of our sheet indices crept upwards from last week, while our plate index was unchanged.
Triple-S Steel Holdings has acquired West Coast steel products distributor Borrmann Metals Co.
Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index ticked back seven points last week, falling further into contraction territory.
Cleveland-Cliffs aims to increase prices for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $750 per short ton (st) effective immediately. The move represents a price hike of $20/st from the Cleveland-based steelmaker's previously published price of $730/st.