Service centers continue to hold flat rolled inventories steady at 2.89 months of supply at the end of November, according to the proprietary Steel Market Update Service Center Inventories Index (SSII). This is now the third consecutive month we have found flat rolled steel distributors’ inventories close to the three months of supply level. Contrast […]
On the heels of its $50 per ton increase on carbon plate prices on Wednesday, Nucor announced an additional $30 per ton increase on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steel products on Friday, effective immediately. U.S. Steel, NLMK USA and California Steel matched the Nucor sheet price increase of $30 per ton. ArcelorMittal USA, […]
Domestic mills are in the driver’s seat and steel prices have nowhere to go but up, agreed most respondents to Steel Market Update’s flat roll market trends questionnaire this week. SMU contacts steel buyers twice each month to monitor their views on market conditions. Asked for their opinion on the current direction of steel prices, […]
With the exception of U.S. Steel, all of the domestic steel mills have announced new coating extras for galvanized steel. The coating extras, which were last changed in April/May 2017 (announcements went out in February/March 2017), are rising due to the higher costs associated with zinc, which is the main ingredient used when making galvanized […]
Galvanized steel prices are on the way up for customers of Steel Dynamics, which was the latest mill to announce an increase in its coating extras due to the high price of zinc, which traded at nearly $1.43 per pound yesterday. SDI’s new extras schedule is effective on orders acknowledged for delivery beginning Jan. 1. […]
Steel Market Update’s steel market indicators show improved trends in the November data. In our examination of data released in November, our view of the present situation is that 47.2 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance is within the band of historically normal. The total of […]
Raw material markets have been tranquil since our October update, but the value of the U.S. dollar is once again in decline. In this report, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc. To put the raw materials analysis into perspective, we begin with Figure 1, which shows the spread […]
Steel Market Update canvassed a large number of flat rolled and plate steel buyers during the course of the last 24 hours. The goal was to better understand where spot prices were being offered (and by whom) and if there were any differences in momentum or the negotiation positions of the various steel mills. We […]
Keith Gunter, Vice President of Purchasing at McElroy Metal (and a part-time poet) shares his annual special holiday retrospective on the past year and his wishes for a prosperous 2018 for all. T’was soon to be Christmas, when all through the land, Pricing ought to be stable, wouldn’t that be so grand. During the fourth […]
Flat rolled and plate steel prices are all over the place this week. We are seeing a distinct difference in pricing from those mills who still have November and December tonnage compared to those whose lead times are into January and beyond. Hot roll appears to be the strongest product with virtually all of our […]
Were you surprised by the price increases announced this week by the major mills? If you were, don’t feel bad. You were among the majority of steel buyers who could foresee no clear direction for steel prices. On Monday, Steel Market Update sent its market trends questionnaire to 650 steel buyers asking, among other questions, […]
On Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, Nucor Sheet Mill Group advised their customers that galvanized orders placed for the first week of January 2018 would have new zinc coating extras. The change in the extras is due to the high cost of zinc, which has been trading in the $1.45-$1.50 per pound range over the past […]
Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this past week. Benchmark hot rolled continues to be one of the better performing of the group. Our HRC average was up $5 per ton this week. Cold rolled was also up, galvanized was sideways and Galvalume dropped $30 per ton. Plate prices on a delivered basis were up […]
Will the rest of the domestic steel mills announce new coating extras in first-quarter 2018, raising the price on galvanized steel? There was no clear consensus among members of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) during their monthly conference call earlier today. Recent mill price announcements have stemmed the decline in galvanized prices, […]
Chemcoaters and its Eco-Green Coatings subsidiary say they are winning over skeptics who doubt the company’s claims it can dramatically lower the cost of galvanized steel with its InterCoat ChemGuard coating. Mike Tieri, vice president of sales and marketing for the Gary, Ind., toll coater, says the product continues to gain converts. “There’s a Who’s […]
Flat rolled steel prices were mixed this week. There was no clear-cut direction being set, although the expectation is for prices to rise once lead times go into January. For that matter, we did hear from some steel buyers who placed December HRC orders for $600 per ton and at the same time placed January […]
Is another mill price hike likely? Nearly 60 percent of respondents to Steel Market Update’s market trends questionnaire earlier this week said they do expect the steel mills to make another price announcement this month before the Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 23. The other 40 percent are doubtful. Following are some of their comments: · […]
U.S. Steel is undertaking a massive asset revitalization program to reduce unplanned outages and improve profitability and competitiveness. The company plans to invest approximately $1.2 billion from 2017 through 2020 on repairs and upgrades. By 2020, slab production capability at Gary Works, Great Lakes Works and Mon Valley works will be increased by 1 million […]
We have been watching the market very carefully looking for signs of a complete change in momentum, which would spur prices to move higher over time. We are finding hot rolled and cold rolled prices strengthening at the lower end of the range, and there have been some adjustments to coated products on a weekly […]
The month of October is now behind us and here are some of the key pieces of data either produced by or followed by Steel Market Update. As the month ended, our Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward Neutral (meaning there is not a strong enough “push” to prices that will force them higher […]
Commodities prices are a mixed bag. The price of iron ore is falling, but zinc is at a 10-year high. In this report, we examine the latest prices for iron ore, scrap, coking coal and zinc. On Oct. 25, commodities analyst Andrew Hecht wrote: “President Xi is likely to consolidate his power and take greater […]
Steel market indicators look good in the October data, but the trends took a turn for the worse. In the data released in October, our view of the present situation is that 47.2 percent of the 36 indicators are historically positive with only 19 percent negative. The balance are within the band of historically normal. […]
AK Steel reported a net loss of $5.8 million in the third quarter compared to net income of $50.9 million in Q3 2016. Results were impacted by $13.1 million in acquisition and debt refinancing costs and a LIFO charge of $49.0 million, compared to a LIFO credit of $24.2 million in the prior-year third quarter. […]
It has only been one week since ArcelorMittal USA increased flat rolled steel prices. As the week progressed, it became obvious that steel mills were reacting to the price announcements in different ways. We heard from steel buyers that some mills withdrew open quoted pricing and repriced at new levels at least $40 per ton […]
Wholesaler/distributors who sell galvanized steel products to the HVAC market are waiting anxiously to see what happens to prices in the coming weeks. In the monthly steel conference call hosted today by the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International, HARDI members asked two key questions: Will the mills be able to collect the flat roll […]
Flat rolled steel prices continued their slow slog south (prices are moving lower). The pace has not accelerated, but there are questions as to whether some of the mills are cutting “quiet” deals in order to fill their fourth-quarter order book without giving the steel away. One service center put it to us this way: […]
Prior to the ArcelorMittal USA price increase announcement, Steel Market Update analysis of steel prices found flat rolled steel prices continuing their slow slog south (prices are moving lower). The pace has not accelerated, but there are questions as to whether some of the steel mills are cutting “quiet” deals in order to fill their […]
One of the questions we get regularly is what are steel buyers and sellers of steel saying about their business (demand) and inventory levels? Over this past week, Steel Market Update spoke with quite a few companies and asked them how they were seeing business and if their company was building flat rolled or steel […]
One of the questions we get regularly is what are steel buyers and sellers of steel saying about their business (demand) and inventory levels? Over this past week, Steel Market Update spoke with quite a few companies and asked them how they were seeing business and if their company was building flat rolled or steel […]
What goes around comes around, as they say. In the case of the ferrous scrap market, what goes around and comes around again and again are residuals such as copper that complicate the steelmaking process and threaten to erode some of the competitive cost advantage now held by minimills. Minimill steelmaking has transformed the steel […]