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.
Sheet prices moved higher this week for the second consecutive week, while plate prices ticked lower, according to our latest canvas of the steel market.
US construction spending in February was mostly steady from January but showed significant gains from last year.
Reliance Inc. has acquired flat-rolled steel service center MidWest Materials of Perry, Ohio.
Domestic raw steel production rebounded from the seven-week low seen last week. It now stands at a three-week high, according to the latest release from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Total steel output in the US was estimated to have been 1,722,000 short tons (st) in the week ending March 30, up 1.1% from the week prior. Raw production is up 0.2% compared to the same week last year, when production totaled 1,718,000 st.
Following 16 months of contraction, US manufacturing activity expanded in March according to the latest report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
U.S. Steel Corp. will hold a special shareholder meeting on Friday, April 12, to vote on whether to approve or deny Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp.’s (NSC) nearly $15-billion acquisition of the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker.
Cleveland-Cliffs’ Lourenco Goncalves said the company is still interested in acquiring U.S. Steel, though no bid is currently on the table, according to a local report.
Electra has commissioned a clean ironmaking pilot plant in Boulder, Colo.
There is growing hope that the US scrap market has bottomed, according to industry sources. The steep price declines in March may have ushered in a floor because dealers say their stocks are a bit depleted. Their concern: that the flow of obsoletes could be cut severely with any further drop in prices. Is this wishful thinking, or do the fundamentals support the prediction of a market bottom? Let’s take a look!
SMU latest' steel market survey paints the picture of sheet market that has hit bottom and begun to rebound. Lead times are extending again after stabilizing earlier this month. Mills are far less willing to negotiate lower sheet prices - even if there are still deals to be had on plate, according to the steel buyers we canvassed.
After stabilizing in our last check of the market, production times for flat-rolled steel have begun to push out further, according to steel buyers responding to SMU's market survey this week.
SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index fell further week, now at the lowest reading recorded since October 2022
Steel companies in Mexico have lined up capex plans totaling $5.7 billion in the next three years. The focus is on replacing imports with domestic production, said David Gutierrez, outgoing president of sector association Canacero. “The investments are aimed at reducing imports, strengthening national production, and ensuring that the benefits stay in the country,” he was quoted as saying at Canacero’s annual congress by regional news service Business News Americas.
Oil and gas drilling activity in North America slowed this week, according to the latest figures from Baker Hughes.
The Biden administration this week announced landmark industrial funding to support potentially transformational industrial decarbonization projects. In total, thirty-three projects across eight industrial sectors will receive up to $6 billion in federal funds from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED).
After reaching a seven-month high in January, steel imports fell back 3% in February, according to preliminary Census data released earlier this week.
US hot-rolled coil and offshore hot band moved further away from parity this week as stateside prices have begun to move higher in response to mill increases.
Numerous mid-sized export yards in California and in Baja Mexico had little to no inventory on the ground last week because most had sold forward in the falling March market. Looking to secure their margins, they dropped prices across the scale. That resulted in lower-than-normal flows. “I’m sold out through mid-April and even longer if the flow doesn’t pick up” one yard owner said. That turned out to be the position of numerous West Coast suppliers.
I can’t really define “Bidenomics” because it is so filled with contradictions. It seems to aim to increase manufacturing output in the United States. But not all increases are created equal.
Metalformers are expecting business conditions to remain steady over the next few months, according to the March Business Conditions Report from the Precision Metalforming Association.
Galvanized buyers reported solid demand and balanced inventories this week and were anticipating the sheet price increase announced by Cleveland-Cliffs on Wednesday.
A container ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, causing it to collapse. This has blocked sea lanes into and out of Baltimore port, which is the largest source of US seaborne thermal coal exports. The port usually exports 1–1.5 million metric tons (mt) of thermal coal per month. It is uncertain when sea shipping will be restored. But it could be several weeks or more. There are coal export terminals in Virginia, though diversion to these ports would raise costs.
SMU’s sheet prices firmed up modestly this week, even as CME hot rolled futures declined. What gives? My channel checks suggest that demand remains stable and that buyers have returned to the market following new HR base prices announced by mills earlier this month. I’m looking forward to seeing whether lead times, which have stabilized, will start extending. SMU will have more to share on that front when we release updated lead time figures on Thursday. As for HR futures, what a reversal! As David Feldstein wrote last Thursday, bulls expected mill price increase announcements. And we briefly saw the May contract climb as high as ~$1,000 per short ton (st).
Sheet prices reversed course and moved higher this week, while plate priced remained flat, according to our latest canvas of the market.
Rio de Janeiro-based metals and mining conglomerate Vale could potentially build a new plant for the production of iron ore briquettes in the US.
With the help of a large government grant, SSAB may soon expand its operations in the US – including constructing a fossil-fuel-free green ironmaking facility in Mississippi.
Domestic raw steel production slipped for the second consecutive week, and is now at a seven-week low, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).
Bull Moose Tube (BMT) CEO Tom Modrowski passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on March 18. BMT said current CFO John Krupinski has been named interim CFO and CEO.