David Schollaert

1 week ago | steelmarketupdate.com | David Schollaert

Nucor has lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil by $10 per short ton (st), marking the fourth consecutive weekly decrease. You can track mill price announcements on our website here. This week’s base CSP will be $870/st, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker told customers in a letter on Tuesday. The company noted that lead times for all spot orders will be offered between 3 and 5 weeks. Published extras will apply to all spot transactions.

2 weeks ago | steelmarketupdate.com | David Schollaert

The company said pricing applied equally to carbon, normalized, and quenched-and-tempered products. Nucor said its base price for normalized and quenched-and-tempered plate is $1,475 and $2,645 per short ton (st), respectively. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with either a Nucor sales acknowledgment or written acceptance by both parties,” the company said in the letter.

2 weeks ago | steelmarketupdate.com | David Schollaert

Recall that tariff fears pulled forward buying in the US in first quarter. Activity has since slowed, and prices have fallen. You’ll also note in the charts below that Section 232 returned on March 12. Since then, the price gap between European and US hot band has tightened. Before that date, allies like the EU faced quotas rather than the 25% tariff. (See Figure 1.)This week, SMU’s average domestic HR price was $845 per short ton (st), flat vs. the previous week.

2 weeks ago | steelmarketupdate.com | David Schollaert

Cleveland-Cliffs opened its June order book for spot material at $910 per short ton (st). The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the price cut was effective immediately, in a letter to customers dated Thursday, May 22. It marks a $65/st decrease from the company’s previous list price of $975/st, per SMU’s price increase calendar. The move comes as US hot band prices have been steadily dropping since mid-March. While decreases have slowed, buyers remain cautious.

3 weeks ago | steelmarketupdate.com | David Schollaert

While I would anticipate market sentiment to pivot and improve if all the questions around tariffs were answered, that still leaves us with a few other factors. Like the fact buyers are stocked, demand is pulled back, and the summer doldrums look to have arrived early – and, dare I say, will “wear out their welcome.”That’s ultimately a recipe for a not-so-enjoyable summer. There’s a lot of interesting data in this week’s survey results.