Everyone is aware of the high level of flat rolled imports in 2014 – especially cold rolled and coated products. So, where does 2014 rank on a historical basis? It is on pace to be the third highest year on record. We have 8 months of actual import data on the books. August year-to-date flat […]
The steel market seems fragile right now said members on this morning’s monthly steel conference call hosted by the Heating, Air conditioning, Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI). Pricing is beginning to slip as demand remains steady was the consensus of most callers. A HVAC wholesaler noted the mills are “negotiating more readily than they were at […]
One of the first things that we noticed when looking at the graph below is all of the “neutral” arrows (yellow arrows in SMU Pricing Momentum) going across the full spectrum of the table shown. We went back to see at what point did we move our Momentum to Neutral and found we made the […]
Zinc prices hit a three year high in September at $2390/t, escalating quickly from the mid $1900s in March. Although the prices have moderated in the last few weeks zinc, as of September 18, zinc was at $2247/metric ton on the LME index. The soaring prices are due to production shortfalls and higher demand. The […]
For those who are keeping track I will be in Arkansas tomorrow for the Big River Steel groundbreaking. It will be interesting to see for myself what all the fuss is about… More about the groundbreaking (and maybe some of the fuss) in Tuesday evening’s issue of SMU. We have also been working on a […]
US Steel announced they will seek court protection from creditor claims against US Steel Canada under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangements Act (CCAA). In the meantime US Steel will provide CA $185 million (US$165 million) to secured debtor-in-possession financing to support the Canadian mills through the end of 2015. For now, US Steel Canada will carry […]
The following press release was made earlier today regarding two investments which are being made in the AM/NS Calvert steel mill (former ThyssenKrupp Steel USA Calvert mill). The two investments will assist in bringing the mill up to its 5.3 million metric ton (5.8 million net tons) target for production. The release (below) came from […]
AK Steel announced today the completion of the $707 million purchase of Severstal Dearborn, which includes a cokemaking facility and interest in three joint venture steel processing facilities. The mill will be renamed “Dearborn Works.” “At AK Steel, the future is now, and the future is bright, as our acquisition of Dearborn Works makes us […]
Flat rolled steel prices moved lower this past week according to the various steel price indexes followed by Steel Market Update. The largest movement was seen in cold rolled prices but hot rolled prices and Galvalume prices also fell during the past week. The one item which did not see erosion was galvanized prices which […]
As we look at our price indices for the week of September 8th we want to take a moment to advise our galvanized customers that we are revising our .060 G90 benchmark index to account for the change in zinc coating extras. After reviewing the changes made by the domestic steel mills we have decided […]
The new coating extras are creating a bit of a bumpy ride for some mills/customers while others are adapting and moving forward. This is something we will need to watch over the next few weeks as we transition to the new extras. Our sources are advising us that some mills are making adjustments to base […]
On Tuesday we will do a complete review of the new zinc coating extras. The last report we provided mistakenly identified the Dofasco extras as those of ArcelorMittal USA. There is a difference in their extras due to the value of the Canadian currency against the U.S. dollar. We already have information on our website […]
Buyers of galvanized steel know that one of the most critical pieces of building pricing is adding the cost charge by the steel mill to apply zinc to steel. If you have had a chance to explore the ‘Resources‘ section of the Steel Market Update website, you may have come across our Steel Mill section […]
There were no surprises raised during the most recent HARDI steel conference call conducted earlier this morning (Tuesday, August 26th). There were no surprises because on the previous call, held in July, the galvanized steel group members discussed the potential for new coating extras as zinc prices rose above $1.00 per pound. As anticipated back […]
A number of steel mills have joined Nucor and US Steel by adjusting their coating extras on galvanized steel. Wheeling Nisshin advised their customers on Monday of this week that they were going to the new U.S. Steel galvanized extras. Severstal also made adjustments to their mills extras but they did not come out with […]
U.S. Steel has begun to inform their customers of their intention to raise their zinc coating extras effective October 1, 2014. Unlike Nucor, USS did not go back to their 2011 price extras. Based on our quick analysis, the under .020” thru .018” G90 extra is being increased by $1.05/cwt or 11.3 percent. The new […]
With Nucor making a move and raising their coating extras, we decided to conduct a quick review of the LME spot zinc market going back to when the previous coating extra changes were made (prices were lowered) with the announcements being made just prior to January 2012. First, we will take a look at the […]
I got a note from a manufacturing company regarding the size of the Nucor move on galvanized coating extras. The comment that was made was, “Zinc average for 2014 is up 8.6% since average of 2012. Nucor increase is way too high.” This steel buyer went on to comment, “Aluminum average in same time period […]
Due to the higher LME zinc spot prices which have surged from about $.88 per pound in late March 2014 to just below $1.10 per pound in mid to late July, Nucor became the first steel mill to adjust their zinc coating extras for galvanized steel. With little fanfare, Nucor published new extras on the […]
At the end of each month Steel Market Update takes a look back at the data we have compiled and does a quick analysis for our readers. This is different than our SMU Key Market Indicators which is also included in this newsletter. Benchmark hot rolled coil prices averaged $667 per ton (SMU) for the […]
Once per month, HARDI sponsors a conference call for those HARDI members who are involved with the sale and distribution of galvanized steel to the HVAC and related industries. Steel Market Update participates in these calls along with wholesalers around the United States and Canada. Since the last HARDI conference call we have seen a […]
Based on a quick analysis of the just released July steel import license data (through the 15th of July) we see the foreign steel imports continuing at very high rates. The import data suggests we will see July imports at levels similar to that of May and June. May had the highest level of imports […]
Spot zinc prices on the LME are closing in on $1.05 per pound as the metal has traded just above $1.04 over the past four business days. The metal has moved from $0.9508 per pound on the 16th of June to its current level at $1.04 per pound. It is important to watch zinc pricing […]
Steel price inputs were mixed during the month of June. Shredded and heavy melt scrap prices declined $8 and $4 per ton respectively while busheling scrap prices increased by $3 per ton. Iron Ore prices increased for 62% Fe grades but decreased for 58% Fe. Zinc and Aluminum prices showed a slight increase of $0.0437 […]
For those buying coated products, zinc prices have been rising and by the end of the month of June were reported by the LME to be $1.0045 per pound. This is the first time zinc has exceeded $1.00 per pound since September 2011 just prior to the adjustment of the galvanized coating extras in January […]
Steel Market Update sources confirmed that the two Severstal North America (NA) steel mills are for sale. At 7.0 million tons of steelmaking capacity, Severstal NA is the fourth largest flat rolled steel producing mill in the United States. Rumors of the possible sale of the Dearborn and Columbus facilities had been circulating around the […]
Steel inputs were steady to down during the month of May. Scrap prices declined $18 to $3 per ton while iron ore prices were down $20.60 to $13.60 per ton. Zinc and Aluminum prices showed a slight increased of $0.0105 to $0.0074 per pound.
There are questions about potential manipulations of zinc and zinc trading which may have artificially inflated the metal’s price since 2010. Zinc, which is the metal used to coat galvanized steel as well as Galvalume, Galfan and ZAM, is believed to have been manipulated by The London Metal Exchange, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Glencore Xstrata […]
Steel Market Update sources confirmed that the two Severstal North America (NA) steel mills are for sale. At 7.0 million tons of steelmaking capacity, Severstal NA is the fourth largest flat rolled steel producing mill in the United States. Rumors of the possible sale of the Dearborn and Columbus facilities had been circulating around the […]
In case you missed the special issue we put out on Saturday we have reproduced the article below: Steel Market Update sources confirmed that the two Severstal North America (NA) steel mills are for sale. At 7.0 million tons of steelmaking capacity, Severstal NA is the fourth largest flat rolled steel producing mill in the […]