Steel

This morning in metals news: an upcoming MetalMiner webinar will cover the signs metals buyers should look out for when assessing when allocation markets might be coming to an end; meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. took home a prize for advanced high-strength steel innovations; and, lastly, steel prices continue to rise.

The MetalMiner Best Practice Library offers a wealth of knowledge and tips to help buyers stay on top of metals markets and buying strategies.

Upcoming MetalMiner webinar

On Thursday, May 27, the MetalMiner team will host the next installment of our monthly webinar series. This time, participants will gain some insights about allocation markets and shortages. For example, what signs should buyers monitor to know when shortages are beginning to ease?

The 30-minute webinar begins at 11:30 a.m. CDT, Thursday, May 27. Registration is free. To sign up, visit the event’s registration page.

The webinar will be recorded, so those who miss it will be able to watch it later on-demand.

Meanwhile, MetalMiner CEO Lisa Reisman and Vice President of Business Solutions Don Hauser joined Roth Capital Partners yesterday for a webinar on metals pricing, supply and demand.

If you missed it and are interested in the conversation, register on the Roth website for access to the recording on-demand.

Read more

The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) picked up 9.0% for this month’s reading, as steel prices continued ascending this past month.

With volatile steel markets, knowing which strategy to execute and when can make all the difference between saving and losing money. See how MetalMiner looks at different market scenarios.

US steel prices continue to rise

For buyers waiting to see a peak in steel prices: keep waiting.

At least for now, steel prices continue to rise, posting double-digit month-over-month price gains. Price rises took somewhat of a pause from late March into mid-April, but it proved temporary.

The US hot rolled coil price, for example, closed Tuesday at $1,456 per short ton, or up 10.39% from a month ago.

Meanwhile, cold rolled coil reached $1,645 per short ton, or up 8.8%. US hot dipped galvanized rose by 10.69% to $1,770 per short ton.

Iron ore booms in Asia

Similarly, steel prices are also surging in Asia.

That is reflected in a skyrocketing iron ore price, too, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns explained earlier this week.

Read more

This morning in metals news: US steel capacity utilization fell to 78.1% last week; meanwhile, a cyberattack halted operations of a major US pipeline on Friday; and, lastly, US steel prices continue to surge.

The MetalMiner Best Practice Library offers a wealth of knowledge and tips to help buyers stay on top of metals markets and buying strategies.

US steel capacity utilization falls to 78.1%

Hor/Adobe Stock

US steel capacity utilization for the week ending May 8 dipped to 78.1% from 78.7% the previous week, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported.

Production during the week totaled 1,774,000 net tons, or down 0.8% from the previous week.

However, production increased by 45.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Production for the year to date reached 32,089,000 net tons at steel capacity utilization rate of 77.4%. Output is up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis.

Read more

This morning in metals news: MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns weighed in on the outlook for iron ore prices and steel prices throughout the remainder of this year; the unemployment rate was unchanged in April; and the copper price has soared past the $10,000 per metric ton mark.

Does your company have a steel buying strategy based on current steel price trends?

Iron ore prices likely to remain elevated

masterskuz55/AdobeStock

Commenting on MarketWatch, MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns said steel prices are likely to lose some steam in the second half of the year. In turn, so will iron ore price.

However, the drop is not likely to be significant. In fact, he noted he expects prices to remain elevated for the balance of the year.

“Iron is experiencing a perfect storm at the moment, Beijing’s environmental constraints are having a two-pronged impact on prices,” he told Marketwatch.

Unemployment unchanged in April

US unemployment checked in at 6.1% in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported.

Read more

Western Europe’s hot rolled coil and cold rolled coil prices continued to rise over the past month.

High demand from China and rising input prices supported prices, market sources told MetalMiner.

Do you know the five best practices of sourcing metals, including steel?

Hot rolled coil prices rise

taitai6769/Adobe Stock

Hot rolled coil from European mills have transacted in the past two weeks for €1,000-€1,020 ($1,200-$1,225) per metric ton exw for rolling and delivery as far ahead as Q4, sources said. Cold rolled coil for the same production and delivery times transacted for about €1,100 ($1,320).

Prices for hot rolled coil in late March reached about €900 ($1,140-1,200). Meanwhile, CRC reached approximately €980 ($1,180).

Deals on imports of HRC over May from India and Turkey concluded at about $1,100 per ton cost and freight (CFR) European ports for delivery in June and July, a second trader stated. That marked an increase from $900-$910 in late March.

A Russian steelmaker also let some steel go into Europe at prices lower than the imports from Asia, another European trading source reported, though no other sources told MetalMiner about this.

The Russians only concluded those transactions in the run-up to Russia’s May holidays. This year, the holidays last 10 days and include May Day on May 1 and Victory Day on May 9, the European trading source warned.

A construction boom in the country has also made Russia’s domestic market the end-user for its rolled product, the source added.

Read more

nattanan726/Adobe Stock

Preliminary US steel imports reached 2.1 million metric tons in March, the Census Bureau reported earlier this month.

Stop obsessing about the actual forecasted steel price. It’s more important to spot the trend. See why.

US steel imports rise, paced by sheets and HDG strip

US steel imports picked up in March from the 1.7 million metric tons brought in during February.

The biggest increases came from sheets and hot dipped galvanized strip, sheets and strip, and reinforcing bars.

Imports of sheets and hot dipped galvanized strip reached 221,721 metric tons, up 43.1% from the previous month. Imports of the product also gained by 18.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Meanwhile, imports of reinforcing bars reached 128,343 metric tons in March, up 65.6%

In oil-relevant news, imports of oil country goods reached 115,905 metric tons in March, up 45.4%. While the demand outlook for oil is still volatile, the ongoing vaccine rollout and the summer season will likely boost demand in the coming months. (Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 43% of the population has received at least one vaccine dose.)

Read more

Given the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world in early 2020, it’s no surprise that year-over-year crude steel production levels have surged so far this year.

In its monthly production analysis, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) reported global crude steel production jumped by 15.2% year over year in March.

With volatile steel markets, knowing which strategy to execute and when can make all the difference between saving and losing money. See how MetalMiner looks at different market scenarios.

Global crude steel production surges in March

Zhao Jiankang/AdobeStock

Global crude steel production reached 169.2 million metric tons during the month, worldsteel reported.

Meanwhile, global crude steel production in Q1 2021 reached 486.9 million metric tons. The Q1 output marked an increase of 10.0% compared with Q1 2020, when the world began to grapple with the pandemic.

China crude steel production remains robust

Despite announced production curbs, especially in the Chinese steelmaking hub of Tangshan, the country’s steel output remains robust.

China churned out 94.0 million metric tons of steel in March, worldsteel reported. That marks an increase of 19.1% year over year.

Steel demand remains strong in China, which helped prop up metals markets last year with stimulus-driven infrastructure spending projects. While the rest of the world continued to struggle, both with the pandemic and economically, China posted GDP growth of 2.3% (low by China’s typical growth rate, but still notable given the scope of the pandemic).

Read more

Sergey_Siberia88/Adobe Stock

Russian steelmaking group Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) reported a 4.1% year-over-year rise in its Q1 crude steel production.

The jump came partly due to completion of maintenance on its long products facility at the Lipetsk site.

Stop obsessing about the actual forecasted steel price. It’s more important to spot the trend. See why.

NLMK output rises in Q1

The group tapped 4.37 million metric tons of liquid steel in Q1 2021. Meanwhile, it tapped just over 4.21 million metric tons in Q1 2020, NLMK said.

Crude production rose 12.1% quarter on quarter, however, from 3.9 million metric tons.

Average capacity utilization across all of NLMK’s hot ends in Russia, Italy and the United States averaged 94.5% in Q1. The figure is unchanged from the previous quarter and year over year, the group indicated.

NLMK can produce 17 million metric tons per year of crude steel. That comes mainly from its main integrated site at Lipetsk, about 465 kilometers southeast of capital city Moscow. That asset also casts slab for further rolling at the plant or for export to subsidiary rolling mills in Europe and the United States.

The group also has electric arc furnaces in Russia at NLMK Kaluga, NLMK Ural, at its Italian site NLMK Verona and at NLMK Indiana in the United States.

Indiana can produce 770,000 metric tons per year of crude via one electric arc furnace. Estimated crude capacity from the 68-tonne EAF at Verona is about 500,000 metric tons per year.

NLMK’s consolidated sales, including semi-finished and finished products, fell 3% on the year to 3.91 million metric tons from 4.5 million metric tons.

Quarter-over-quarter sales were 14% lower from 4.22 million metric tons, the group said.

A decrease in commercial pig iron sales due to repairs to blast furnace operations at Lipetsk, plus an increase in intragroup slab sales, impacted sales results, NLMK said.

The group’s consolidated flat sales rose by 2% in Q1, however, to about 2.06 million metric tons from 2.02 million metric tons in Q4 2020. Those sales are down 7% from the more than 2.21 million metric tons the group sold in Q1 2020.

NLMK Russia Long Products, the only segment of the group that produces finished and longs, saw the highest increases in consolidated quarter on quarter at 635,000 metric tons, up 8% from 587,000 metric tons.

Year over year, the increase rises to 18% from 539,000 metric tons.

Read more

Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and the metals storylines here on MetalMiner, including coverage of steel prices, US electricity consumption and much more:

Sign up today for Gunpowder, MetalMiner’s free, biweekly e-newsletter featuring news, analysis and more.

Week of April 12-16 (steel prices, electricity consumption and more)

• The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecast US electricity consumption
  

  niteenrk/Adobe Stock

  will rise by 2.1% this year.

• Carbon dioxide emissions from the industrial sector fell by 8% in 2020, the EIA also reported.
• MetalMiner’s Stuart Burns on the development and adoption of processes behind so-called “green” steel.
• The strike at ATI continued this week, marking the third week of the labor stoppage at nine of the specialty materials firm’s facilities.
• In other green news, Oslo-based Norsk Hydro said it is exploring the possibility of developing and operating its own hydrogen facilities.
• Burns on the European aluminum sector’s objections to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
• MetalMiner contributor Sohrab Darabshaw delved into India’s foray into graphite anode production.
• US steel capacity utilization fell to 77.6% last week, the American Iron and Steel Institute reported.
• The copper price steadied in the second half of March after plunging in late February and early March.
• Rising aluminum delivery premiums are indicative of a tight market.
• Rio Tinto said it had reached a new funding deal for the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine project.
• US steel price gains appear to have started to slow down.
• Alcoa reported first quarter net income of $175 million, citing the benefit of higher alumina and aluminum prices.

The MetalMiner Best Practice Library offers a wealth of knowledge and tips to help buyers stay on top of metals markets and buying strategies.

The Raw Steels Monthly Metals Index (MMI) rose by 7.8% for this month’s reading, as steel prices continued to rise.

Are you prepared for your annual steel contract negotiations? Be sure to check out our five best practices.

Steel price gains slow

As we’ve chronicled in this monthly column, steel prices have been rising consistently since last summer.

Buyers have struggled to find supply in what eventually became an allocation market.

Steel prices have posted double-digit percentage gains on a month-over-month basis. However, that ascent appears to be slowing somewhat.

The US hot rolled coil price, for example, continued to increase. The US HRC three-month price rose 20% month over month to $1,280 per short ton. However, the price has flattened out thus far in April.

Are steel prices finally reaching a peak? That is not yet clear, but price gains have certainly started to slow.

Supply developments

Speaking of allocation markets and tight supply, buyers will take some solace in the fact that some new supply will be coming on stream, both in the short and medium terms.

Work continues on Steel Dynamics’ new Sinton, Texas facility, which is scheduled to open by mid-year.

Excluding costs associated with investment in the Sinton flat rolled steel mill ($18 million), the company said it expected its first quarter earnings to be in the range of between $1.94 and $1.98 per diluted share, which it said could represent a record earnings quarter for the company.

Read more