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 […] The post Residuals Eroding Minimills’ Cost Advantage appeared first on Steel Market Update.
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel As the HR index retreated to $598/ST[$29.90/cwt] this week, we saw further price declines of the nearby futures while the medium to longer-term […] The post Hot Rolled Futures: Modest Retreat appeared first on Steel Market Update.
The negotiations for ferrous scrap were pretty “easy,” according to one ferrous scrap analyst who told Steel Market Update on Friday that virtually every market in the United States was down $30 per gross ton on heavy melt and shred and other obsolete grades, while prime grades such as bundles and #1 busheling dropped $40 […] The post Scrap Moves Lower in October appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Steel Market Update (SMU) has been speaking with a number of our ferrous scrap sources over the past few days to get a better feeling as to where scrap will trade for the month of October. Early reports are that Detroit (which tends to lead the charge most months) saw cut/obsolete grades down $30 per […] The post Scrap Moving Toward Down $30-$40 Per Gross Ton appeared first on Steel Market Update.
The United States’ share of the global steel scrap trade has changed little in the two and a half years through second-quarter 2017. Steel Market Update performs this analysis quarterly to understand the gyrations of the domestic scrap market and where the U.S. stands as a global player. This data is not very current because […] The post Little Change in U.S. Share of Global Scrap Trade appeared first on Steel Market Update.
The ferrous scrap market is softening and SMU’s sources expect prices to drop by $10 to $20 per gross ton in October. Domestic mills are beginning to cancel September orders that have not been completed (delivered) by the end of the month. This is a sure sign the mills believe ferrous scrap negotiations for October […] The post SMU Sources: Ferrous Scrap Prices Softening appeared first on Steel Market Update.
The following article on the hot rolled coil (HRC) steel and financial futures markets was written by Jack Marshall of Crunch Risk LLC. Here is how Jack saw trading over the past week: Steel HR futures have been pretty active the last week as sellers reached and we hit a new near-term low in prices […] The post Hot Rolled Futures: Reaching New Near-Term Lows appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma were devastating for the many Americans still struggling to recover from the damage. But for the scrap metal market, contrary to common belief, the storms will be a mere blip. “Everyone’s immediate reaction to Harvey is, ‘Oh, there will be so much scrap coming out of Houston, prices will drop.’ The […] The post Don’t Expect a Surge of Scrap from the Storms appeared first on Steel Market Update.
Pictures of countless cars and trucks submerged in Houston floodwaters and homes shattered by high winds in the Southeast have the worth of a thousand words in describing the destruction from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. What they say about post-storm conditions in the ferrous scrap market is less clear. For those who assume thousands of […] The post Storms Cloud the Visibility for Scrap appeared first on Steel Market Update.
On Friday, Steel Market Update (SMU) adjusted our Price Momentum Indicator to Lower from Neutral. It is our opinion that flat rolled steel prices will move lower over the next 30 days for the following 10 reasons: First, when the head of commercial of a domestic steel mill tells SMU that “transaction pricing cannot go […] The post Ten Reasons Why SMU Price Momentum Indicator Adjusted to “Lower” appeared first on Steel Market Update.