Tag: US

US hot-rolled (HR) coil has become increasingly more expensive than offshore hot band as stateside prices have moved higher at a sharper pace vs. imports.

President Biden said on Wednesday he would stand by his commitment to US workers regarding the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel.

Over the last several years, I have noticed widening spreads between #1 Heavy Melting Steel (ISRI 201) and Shredded (ISRI 210,211), as well as Plate & Structural (ISRI 232).

Nucor made waves in the sheet market when it announced on Friday that it would begin publishing a weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker arguably made even bigger waves on Monday when it posted its first weekly HR number: $830 per short ton. That’s $70/st lower than the $900/st HR price Cliffs announced in late March. It’s also lower than prices in the mid-$800s that other mills were (less publicly) seeking.

Sheet prices saw a slight momentum shift this week after consecutive gains in the prior two weeks. Plate edged lower on greater competition off easing demand, according to our latest check of the steel market.

The apparent supply of steel in the US fell 6% from January to February, according to data compiled from the Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).

Cleveland-Cliffs and the Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) are two of the newest members to join the World Steel Association (worldsteel).

Steel Warehouse Co. has announced the rebranding of its Cold Mill division as “Specialty Strip,” a boutique cold mill.

Global steel demand will reach roughly 1.793 million metric tons (1.976 million short tons) this year, an increase of 1.7% over 2023, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) said in its updated Short Range Outlook report. The gain will come after a 0.5% contraction in steel demand in 2023. Demand is forecasted to increase another 1.2% […]

The latest US Department of Commerce data shows 840,000 short tons (st) of steel left the country in February. This is the highest monthly export rate since August 2023.

Evraz North America said there was no impact on production from a fire that broke out at its Pueblo., Colo., steel mill on Friday.

Domestic raw steel production moved higher last week after rebounding from a seven-week low just two weeks ago, reaching its highest total year-to-date, according to the latest release from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)

They say all’s fair in love and war. But that doesn’t seem to be the case in steel. Being deemed “unfair” could get you slapped with shiny new Section 232 tariffs these days. Then again, “unfair” implies a judge. And people on opposing sides seldom agree with the judgment. Such seems to be the current case between the US and Mexico.

The Biden Commerce Department just issued a broad rewrite of regulations dealing with a host of antidumping and countervailing duty issues. This week, I write about one of those issues, where it looks like Commerce made a wrong turn.

Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation data was released on Friday, March 29, despite the stock market being closed for Good Friday. The year-over-year (y/y) PCE price index rose 2.5% in February, in line with market expectations but up from the 2.4% growth seen in January. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 2.8% y/y in February, also in line with expectations and slightly down from 2.9% in January.

The number of active rigs in the US eased to a nine-week low, while Canadian activity continued it’s seasonal wind down.

Steel import licenses through March have now reached a nine-month high according to the latest data from the US Commerce Department.

April scrap prices came in sideways in the US, sources told SMU.

AHMSA’s new investors, Argentem Creek Partners, have plans for a potential staggered restart of operations at the Mexican steelmaker.

Sheet prices continue to inch higher. That’s a welcome development for many. But it’s also a far cry from the price surge many predicted about a month ago. Remember the theory that supported a spring surge: Sheet prices would soar on a combination of mill outages, stable-to-strong demand, restocking, mill price increases, and (potentially) trade action against Mexico as well.

Nucor plans to publish a weekly spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil beginning on Monday, April 8, according to a press release and letters to customers. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said its published HR price would be derived from “both quantitative and qualitative data” in the letter to customers on Thursday, April 4.

Steel shipments from US mills were lower in February, both from January and from last year.

OnmiSource LLC, a subsidiary of Fort Wayne, Indiana-based steel producer and recycler, Steel Dyanmics, Inc., has acquired Toledo Shredding, LLC, in Ohio.

The US Department of Energy has finalized Congressionally mandated energy-efficiency standards for transformers.

The US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) has revised upwards the antidumping duty (AD) rates on imports of cold-rolled steel flat products from two South Korean producers.

Several large buyers in the North came into the market on a sideways basis from prices paid in March. The development comes after recent speculation about what prices US-based steelmakers would pay for scrap for April shipments.

A prominent US senator has asked the White House to investigate Nippon Steel Corp.’s (NSC) ties to China as the Japanese steelmaker seeks to acquire U.S. Steel.

RHI Magnesita has announced its intention to acquire Pittsburgh-based refractory producer Resco Group for an enterprise value of up to $430 million.

On the eve of the April ferrous scrap buy, there is no firm consensus on the market’s direction. The safe predictions are “soft” sideways to “strong” sideways. That may mean down $10 per gross ton (gt) to up $10/gt.

You might have noticed that SMU has been publishing more articles about scrap in recent months. That was no accident. In fact, we’ve found enough of an audience that CRU, our parent company, has decided to launch a new publication – Recycled Metals Update, or RMU. It cover both ferrous and nonferrous scrap. RMU’s website is here. You can go there now and request a 30-day free trial. It’s that simple.