Steel prices declined in North American region during July
<http://www.globalsteelweb.com/yellowpages/yp.html> <http://www.globalsteelweb.com/news/news.html> <http://www.globalsteelweb.com/reports/reports.html> <http://www.globalsteelweb.com/emarket/emarket.html> <http://www.globalsteelweb.com/advertisement/advertise.html> <http://www.globalsteelweb.com/forms/post_register.html> <http://www.globalsteelweb.com> GSW Reports Steel prices declined in North American region during July 30-Aug-10 The transaction value of flat steel products in United States continued its sharp decline during July. This activity took place against the backdrop of increasing raw material prices during the third quarter. Manufacturers were desperate to acquire material before it gets more expensive. On the other hand, they were making concession for their clients who had larger orders. In Canada, domestic manufacturing activity was very low. Capacity cuts were expected in the near-term in order to match the poor domestic demand pit against healthy supply. Several manufacturers shut down their manufacturing facilities for extended period during August. Long product prices turned down during July almost everywhere. Scrap costs tumbled during June. The reduction in cost of input for manufacturers coupled with generally weak building and construction demand led to low setting values. The analysis of some popular products is as follows. Hot rolled coil HRC market in United States stayed weak. There were fears of double-dip recession. Mill orders exhibited low activity. Transaction price declined in an excess of 5% during the last four weeks. A few signs of upturn were detected for the near-term. In Canada, manufacturing activity was below usual. Several manufacturing facilities were suspended for maintenance purposes in the wake of low market. A number of customers believed that prices were going to fall further. Some manufacturers had decided to stocks their production activities in the wake of high input costs and low demand. Hot rolled plates Plate sales figures and United States of America continued to decline during July. Delivery lead time was reduced reflecting poor rate of consumption. Market consensus was that prices were going to fall further. Import offers became more competitive. Regardless of reasonable demand for hot rolled plates in Canada, transaction figures slid further during the month. The reason was considered to be greater imports threat. Cold rolled coil Traditional summer slowdown in steel purchase activities led to numerous problems with bookings of orders across North America. Steel manufacturing companies became more aggressive in their attempt to collect orders besides cutting prices. Regardless of these efforts, there was a decline in shipments. Discounts were unavailable to any customer with relatively bigger volume of order. Customers were afraid of a double-dip recession. Automotive demand was good in United States as well as Canada. Price reduction of approximately US$60 per ton was recorded during the month. Coated coils Automotive sector of United States of America stayed strong during the month. However, low demand from house building and construction sectors resulted in price reduction for hot dipped galvanized material. Electro-zinc sales value held up at prior month's figures. Canadian vehicle manufacturing sector was quite buoyant. Transaction values in general market stayed low nevertheless on account of slow business activity in the steel sector. A number of customers believed that prices were not going to fall further due to input costs which were rising in parallel. Wire Rod Wire rod market activity slipped in United States during July. Sales to automotive sector were good. However, the demand of mesh grade material eased up. Further price reduction was expected by many market participants as the cost of scrap material went down during June. In Canada, domestic mill manufacturing activity stayed slow. Significant production to sales values were made effective during the month. A modest rise in scrap costs took place in middle of the month but the resulting price was still lower than May or Early June figures. Medium sections and beams Price cuts took place in structural markets of United States of America during June especially in the case of medium sections and beams. The demand of new building material was poor. No stock replenishment activity took place. Further reduction in sales value was anticipated for the near-term. Canadian prices also plummeted. There appeared to be little real demand and uncertainty persisted across the board. Fears of double-dip recession emerged. Reinforcing bars Domestic mill activity was steel slow in United States. Market price of rebars went down and further decline was expected in the near term. Raw material surcharge was also slashed. Delivery lead time became very short. Consumption of steel in construction sector was also low. June employment data in the industry stood at 14 year low-level. Significant price reduction took place in Canada as manufacturers attempted to survive in the depressed market. Merchant bars During July, the market for light sections was very poor in United States. Distribution companies and users were not replenishing their stocks. Construction demand was flat. Sales values by mills slipped once again during the month. Canadian market continued to get weak. This resulted in low prices. As a result, the prospects of demand in the region for current year could not be deemed clearer. Please don't hesitate to contact us <http://www.globalsteelweb.com/company/contact.html> if you have any suggestion, question or comments Thanks & best regards GSW Reports Department reports@globalsteelweb.com Please Note: This is not spam mail. 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