A short review of where we are in the process of launching of our new SMU website and newsletters. Over the past two weeks we have actually been doing twice the normal work as we produce both our existing newsletter which comes out of our existing website, and then the new “Executive” level newsletter which […]
Steel Market Update (SMU) received a question related to the most recent “Steel Buyers Basics” article published in Sunday evening’s issue of Steel Market Update. The article was about “spread” in flat rolled steel pricing and how it is measured. On Monday one of the transportation companies which recently joined SMU as a member provided […]
Steel Market Update had a couple of questions arise concerning our article about ultra light gauge galvanized (lighter than .015”) in Sunday evening’s Steel Market Update newsletter. In that article we referenced prices being offered as between $39.50/cwt-$41.50/cwt CIF, Duty Paid, USA Port (coating weight is G30 which we did not do a good job […]
Surma to Step Aside on September 1st US Steel’s Board of Directors has elected Mario Longhi as chief executive officer effective Sept. 1. Longhi will succeed John Surma who will retain the position of executive chairman until his retirement from the company December 31. “In the tradition of the U. S. Steel CEOs who have […]
Platts continues to lead the other steel indexes on both benchmark hot rolled as well as cold rolled pricing. Platts has hot rolled coil priices at $665 per ton this past week, while the rest of the indexes SMU reviews on a continuous basis have the product ranging from $645 to $653 per ton. A […]
You will hear the term “spread” quite often when discussing the differences between flat rolled steel prices from one source to another. The term can be used when discussing domestic steel mills and their differences in pricing on the same product. It can also be used when discussing the differences between foreign steel imports and […]
Cold rolled sheet imports June 2013 and YTD by source and port of entry. This is one of an expanded series of analyses, exclusive to the Steel Market Update that is designed to provide a much more comprehensive view of actual volume by product. In the future, this data will be available to our Premium […]
Ultra light gauge galvanized (thicknesses less than .015”) have traditionally been associated with foreign steel suppliers as opposed to domestic mills. The U.S. mills have, over time, relegated the ultra light gauge markets as ones of the least interest due to the amount of line time it takes to produce these products versus running a […]
From time to time SMU gets emails from our readers that we think others might find interesting. Here are a couple examples: In an email with the title “Bingo” we received the following comments from a large galvanized service center: “The bet is the first sign of weakness will come out of the conversion mills […]
Service Center Deficit Will Help Keep Mill Prices Firm Flat rolled inventories are at a 466,000 ton deficit according to Steel Market Update proprietary analysis of the recently released MSCI service center inventory data. The 466,000 ton deficit is the largest one we have measured since August 2009 when it was measured at 604,000 tons. […]
According to just released Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) data, total steel inventories at the distributors as of the end of July were 7,642,600 tons. This is 12.2 percent below the 8,953,900 tons held by service centers at the end of July 2012. The daily shipment rate dropped to 157,500 tons per day (22 day […]
Written by: John Packard With other periodicals calling a top or “peak” to the market the pressure has been put on Steel Market Update to clear up the muddied waters. From our perspective, the peak is usually identified when one of the domestic mills breaks ranks and starts cutting deals at numbers less than what […]
Written by: John Packard Essentially our review of the market has found little measurable movement in spot flat rolled prices this week. The opinion of many buyers is the market is closer to the top and any purchases need to be carefully considered prior to making any commitments. Buyers continue to express confidence in their […]
Written by: John Packard ThyssenKrupp AG continues to be in heavy negotiations with the lead bidder (believed to be CSN out of Brazil) regarding the sale of the Steel Americas assets. The assets in question consist of both the Calvert, Alabama operation as well as the CSA slab mill which is located in Brazil. In […]
Written by: Sandy Williams ThyssenKrupp reported adjusted EBIT €332 million ($439M) for the third quarter ending June 30, 2013 for its continuing operations, up from €241 million ($319M) in the second quarter. Third quarter net loss was €218 million in the third quarter as compared to a net profit of €403 million ($534M) in third […]
Written by: John Packard June apparent steel supply came in at 8,728,000 tons which was a 3.75 percent decline compared to the previous year. As you can see by the graphic below, all of the categories came in below June 2012 data. Year to date 2013 is on pace with 2012 averaging 7,900,000 tons […]
On Monday we will begin our mid-August steel market survey. If you receive an invitation we hope you will spend a few minutes and click on the link provided in the invitation and respond to our questionnaire. As mentioned late last week our Steel 101 workshop is sold out and we have at least one […]
Our Steel 101 workshop in Blytheville, Arkansas is officially “sold out.” For those interested in our next Steel 101 workshop we are working on the 2014 schedule and expect to announce the first two for next year within a few weeks. In the meantime, you are welcome to send us an email with your name, […]
With other periodicals calling a top or “peak” to flat rolled prices, the pressure has been put on Steel Market Update to clear up the muddied waters. From our perspective, the peak is usually identified when one of the domestic steel mills breaks ranks and starts cutting deals at numbers less than what they were […]
Written by Sandy Williams Caterpillar Inc. reported second quarter sales and revenues of $14.621 billion, down 15.8 percent from $17.374 billion in the second quarter of 2012. Net profit plunged 43 percent to $960 million in the second quarter of 2013, from $1.699 billion in the second quarter of 2012. In a revision of […]
Written by: Brett Linton For the week ending August 10, 2013, the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI) reported that the U.S. steel industry produced 1,862,000 net tons of raw steel, a 1.4 percent decrease over the previous week and a 1.8 decrease over the same week one year ago. The estimated capacity utilization rate […]
As I mentioned above in the first article I am getting pressure to adjust our Price Momentum from Higher to Neutral.I am not willing to do that – yet – and the main reason is we are in a supply driven pricing cycle and the supply issues have not yet been fully resolved.Does this mean […]
Each month Steel Market Update will update our Monthly customers regarding the pricing cycles and any changes which occurred during the month. The month of July saw a continuation of the “up” pricing cycle which began on May 22nd when U.S. Steel announced a $50 per ton price hike. The goal for the first price hike was […]
Flat rolled prices moved higher from the beginning of July through the end of the month. Steel Market Update recorded price increases ranging from $32.50 per ton to as much as $45.00 per ton. In the table below, SMU indices are shown with their range (from high to low) as well as the average and […]
The main issue driving steel prices during the month of July was supply and the constraints in supply related to production issues at the North American steel producers. U.S. Steel Lake Erie Works continued to be on lockout throughout July. The 2.5 million ton a year slab and hot rolled mill was first locked out […]
The domestic steel mills paid more for their scrap during the month of July than the month prior. The higher scrap inputs were one reason behind the domestic mills announcing more price increases as the month progressed. Spot iron ore (China) pricing rose during the month of July and ended the month with 62% Fe […]
Written by: Andre Marshall, CEO Crunch Risk, LLC The month of July ended with a decent week in hot rolled coil (HRC) steel futures with 1119 contracts trading or 22,380 net tons. Open interest on the CME at the end of the month was 1,271 contracts or 25,420 tons. The market saw some hedge buying […]
Based on our analysis of the recently released Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) data the Apparent Deficit for flat rolled increased to 397,000 tons in June. This comes after a 336,000 ton deficit in May and a 157,000 ton deficit at the end of April. Our analysis of June 2012 indicated service centers at that […]
One of the key items watched by Steel Market Update is service center spot pricing. Service centers have the ability to support price increases or signal the market that spot increases will fail. According to the manufacturing companies participating in our mid-July steel market survey, service centers are pushing for higher prices in the spot […]
Twice per month Steel Market Update (SMU) surveys the flat rolled steel market in order to gage market trends, pricing and Sentiment within the steel community. Since November 2008 SMU has been measuring Steel Buyers Sentiment. The resulting index is measured on a zero to plus 100 (+100) scale for those who are optimistic about […]