Hot-rolled coil prices fell again this week and now have a tenuous grip on $900 per ton ($45 per cwt). We remain at the lowest price levels since mid-December 2020 – more than 18 months ago. What’s going on? For starters, we know that the low end of our range might come as surprise to some […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
There has been a broad consensus that wherever the current market bottoms will be higher than pre-pandemic norms. But as our latest survey results indicate, estimates of where that bottom is keep moving lower. About half of respondents to our latest survey think prices will be $800-899 per ton two months from now. In late […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Who wants to be in the hot-rolled coil business anymore? I ask that only partly in jest. It’s not that no one wants to make spot HRC anymore. It’s just that not many companies seem to want to make it their bread and butter. Nucor spending $3 billion for a garage door company and looking […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has agreed to acquire Mexican ferrous and nonferrous scrap recycler Roca Acero SA de CV. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based EAF steelmaker did not disclose the purchase price but said the deal would be paid for in cash. The agreement remains subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, SDI said. “We […] The post SDI Buys Mexican Scrap Recycler Roca Acero appeared first on Steel Market Update.
I hope the balance of the year turns out to be as good as steel mill and service center executives say it will be. I’ve covered a lot earnings reports and spent a lot of time on earnings calls over the last month. (It sometimes feels like the sun never sets on earnings season.) And […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
US Steel is no longer importing pig iron from Ukraine and Russia for its Big River Steel Works – now the official name of its Osceola, Ark., electric arc furnace (EAF) sheet mill. The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker has also mostly weaned its integrated steel mill in Košice, Slovakia, off Russian raw materials as well, they said. […] The post Big River Steel Not Sourcing Pig Iron From Russia, Ukraine: USS appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Nucor Corp. “immediately” halted sourcing pig iron and other raw materials from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in late February, the company’s top executive said. “The day after the invasion happened, we stopped buying materials immediately from Russia and have taken nothing from them,” Nucor president and CEO Leon Topalian said. “We pivoted very quickly […] The post Nucor Slammed Door on Russian Pig Iron After Invasion of Ukraine appeared first on Steel Market Update.
BlueScope plans to buy Coil Coatings from Cornerstone Building Brands for $500 million to expand its presence in painted products in the eastern US. The Australian steelmaker – parent company of sheet producer North Star BlueScope in Delta, Ohio – said the deal would complement its existing coated products business on the West Coast. The […] The post BlueScope to Buy Coil Coatings for $500M, Expand in Eastern US appeared first on Steel Market Update.
I decided to take a break from prices and survey data today to check in with a few trusted mill and service center executives. Each had their own take on the market. But there were a couple of common threads. First, the war in Ukraine is still driving the steel and metals markets – even […] The post Final Thoughts appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Fuel surcharges continue to march higher along with increased steel prices and ballooning costs for raw materials such as ferrous scrap and pig iron. Case in point: Wheeling-Nippon Steel’s fuel surcharge will increase to 24% effective with shipments on Monday, April 4. “The surcharge will continue to be added to the freight on all invoices […] The post SMU Survey Respondents Flag Fuel Surcharges as Costs March Higher appeared first on Steel Market Update.