Steel Products Prices North America
January 22, 2019
West Coast Mills Announce; Inventories Key in the East
Written by John Packard
On Monday, California Steel Industries (CSI) and USS/POSCO (UPI) advised customers of their intention to take spot prices on flat rolled products produced by the two mills up by $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt). This is the first price announcement out of either mill since October 2018. So far, there have not been any announcements out of the domestic mills located east of the Rocky Mountains.
Many steel buyers told Steel Market Update Publisher John Packard, during his channel checks over the past two days, of limited buying activity. A large hot rolled buyer told SMU on Monday, “We are not buying a whole lot. Apparent demand is lacking, and the next phase will be to watch import.” This buyer went on to say that lead times have been deteriorating and are the shortest they have seen on the products they buy going back to October 2017. It was then that momentum changed and prices started to run up (aided a little later by Section 232 tariffs).
