Steel
Overview
The price indices in our Argus Ferrous Markets and Argus Global Steel services are widely used by companies in physical supply contracts around the world – for iron ore, coking coal, hot-rolled coil (HRC) and ferrous scrap.
Many of them are used as the settlement prices for cash-settled futures contracts launched by exchanges to allow users of the derivatives who also transact in the physical market to minimize basis risk while hedging. These cash-settled monthly futures contracts are settled against the arithmetic mean of all the published Argus prices during each calendar month.
Using indices allows companies to trade material on an index-linked basis, not only via fixed-prices sales. This offers significant advantages when prices are volatile, yet the modern finished steel market remains primarily transacted on a fixed price basis. The addition of futures markets offers opportunities to enhance supply chain resilience further.
Latest steel news
SA Recycling expands Atlanta shredder rail spur
SA Recycling expands Atlanta shredder rail spur
Pittsburgh, 24 April (Argus) — US scrap metal processor SA Recycling is expanding the rail spur at its Doraville, Georgia, shredder, which is about 20 miles northeast of Atlanta. The expansion will nearly double rail capacity at the facility by boosting its daily carloads from 14 up to 25 per day, according to railroad Norfolk Southern. The company worked with the railroad to establish a direct connection between its scrap yard and the rail yard to eliminate mainline switching conflicts and congestion. SA's Doraville shredder can process up to 200 cars/hour. It is one of 28 SA operations across the state, according to the company's website. The Orange County, California-based company is a 50-50 joint venture between Sims and Adams Steel. By Brad MacAulay Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US port fees threaten some metal shippers
US port fees threaten some metal shippers
Pittsburgh, 24 April (Argus) — US scrap metal shippers will see varying degrees of exposure to US Trade Representative's (USTR) revised proposal for port fees on Chinese-built and operated ships. USTR finalized a plan 17 April to apply a $50/net ton (nt) fee on Chinese operators and owners and a $18/nt fee on Chinese-built ships that dock in the US. The fees will begin in mid-October with incremental increases over the next three years. The agency determined that China's dominance of the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors has reduced supply chain resilience by displacing foreign firms, lessening competition, and creating dependencies on the country. The number of US-flagged or -built ships has decreased by 34pc since 2010 to 185 in 2024, US Bureau of Transportation statistics data show. US-flagged or -built vessels accounted for 0.4pc of the global fleet in 2019. The fees are less severe than the industry anticipated, but sweeping exemptions will result in uneven impacts for bulk and container shippers. Fees largely spare bulk shippers Bulk scrap metal shippers will have the least direct impact from the new policies because ships arriving empty or in ballast and vessels carrying 80,000 deadweight tons (dwt) or less will be excluded from the charges associated with using a Chinese-built ship. Chinese-built ships account for 41pc of the 14,661 active vessels in the dry bulk global fleet, according to global ship tracking analytics firm Kpler. Bulk scrap exporters most commonly use Handysize vessels, but some occasionally fix bigger ships. The average weight of a bulk ferrous scrap export vessel in 2024 was 33,500 metric tonnes (t), according to manifest data. Even the largest Supramax vessel booked by east coast scrap exporters in 2024, the Denak D , would still qualify for the weight exemption. Most market participants are still working through the notice and waiting for more details regarding the exemptions. The USTR has not responded to requests for clarification on exemptions. Chinese-owned and Chinese-operated vessels would still be subject to the fees . Bulk shippers will be exposed to this direct cost, unless they shy away from Chinese-owned or operated vessel fixtures. But competition for these vessels will likely raise freight rates and availability as other commodity sectors shift their bookings as well, market sources said. Mills see some exposure on metallics US steelmakers importing bulk scrap will also broadly be spared from higher port fees related to Chinese-built vessels because of the weight exemptions, but some mills will be more exposed on imports of pig iron. Pig iron shippers occasionally use Kamsarmax vessels over 80,000dwt. But the vast majority of US pig iron imports travels in smaller vessels, such as Supramax or Ultramax size, which tend to have capacities well below the 80,000dwt limit. USTR offered exemptions to short-haul voyages under 2,000 nautical miles, which will help to relieve costs for shipments on the Great Lakes or between the US Gulf coast and Mexico. Mills would still be exposed to fees on any Chinese-owned or Chinese-operated vessel. Fees put container shippers at risk US container scrap exporters are the most vulnerable to the USTR's finalized plan on Chinese ship operators' vessels calling at US ports. Chinese built vessels account for about 50pc of all container ships globally, a market source said. USTR plans to impose a fee of $120 for each container discharged on a Chinese-built vessel beginning in mid-October with annual increases over the next three years reaching $250 for every container in April 2028. US shippers typically load about 25t in containers on the east coast and around 20t on the west coast. Containerized traders are bracing for higher freight costs later this year once the fees go into effect. USTR proposed exemptions for container vessels with a capacity no greater than 4,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU), but most of the ships servicing the US export market are minimum of 8,000 TEUs, market participants said. The added port fees will likely get passed through to US customers via higher freight costs, a freight forwarder said. But for the short-term, blank sailings and new vessel capacity coming online has helped to keep rates steady, according to market participants. These added costs, paired with broader concerns of a flagging economy have begun to worry market participants over possible margin compression in the fourth quarter. By Brad MacAulay and James Marshall Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Tariffs cause SDI to shift pig iron, scrap mix
Tariffs cause SDI to shift pig iron, scrap mix
Pittsburgh, 23 April (Argus) — US tariffs on pig iron imports are prompting electric arc furnace steelmaker Steel Dynamics to lean more heavily on prime and shredded scrap in its flat-rolled melt mix. The White House put 10pc tariffs on most countries this month, including major pig iron-producing nations Brazil and Ukraine. The import tax raised the cost of pig iron and encouraged Indiana-based Steel Dynamics (SDI) to increase scrap usage at its flat-rolled mills, the company said today on its quarterly earnings call. "We could go anywhere from 8pc to 25pc on a pig iron, and we will make those decisions based on what the market pricings are of those different units," chief executive Mark Millet said. The outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022 shocked the pig iron market and caused prices to skyrocket. SDI, at that time, replaced some pig iron with shredded scrap and busheling. It could use that same playbook while tariffs on pig iron are in place, the company said. The current tariff scheme will not affect SDI's long product steel mills because they rely strictly on scrap in their melt mixes, nor will the tariffs have an impact on scrap imports from Canada and Mexico. SDI's scrap costs fell to $386/st in the first quarter, down from $417/st in the same period last year. Its total scrap shipments were steady at just over 2mn gross tons (gt) in the quarter. The decrease in scrap costs from a year earlier came despite a surge in ferrous scrap prices in January and February. The surge caused SDI's steel-to-ferrous raw material margin to narrow to $612/st in the first quarter, down from $784/st a year earlier. SDI reported a $217mn profit in the first quarter, down from a $584mn profit in the same period of 2024. By James Marshall Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
German crude steel output falls in March
German crude steel output falls in March
London, 23 April (Argus) — German crude steel output fell by 11pc on the year to 3mn t in March, data from steel association WV Stahl show. This marks the third consecutive month of double-digit declines. In the first quarter of 2025, 12.5pc less crude steel was produced than in the same period last year, WV Stahl noted. Basic oxygen furnace and electric arc furnace production fell by 15pc and 4pc to 2mn t and 1mn t, respectively. In Germany, orders taken in January for March production remained limited, as outlined by market participants at the start of this year. Output from carmakers is likely to be lower this year than last year unless EU governments stimulate consumer demand, one source said in January . Hot-rolled steel supply in the country fell by 7pc on the year to 2.8mn t. Further south, Italian crude steel production showed some signs of strengthening on the year as it rose by 6pc to 2mn t, data from steel association Federacciai indicate. Hot-rolled output followed suit, jumping by 14pc year on year to 900,000t. These increases are supported by last year's weak base of comparison. Looking ahead, Italy is likely to make more crude steel output increases on the year, given that buying accelerated during the first quarter of 2025 as buyers anticipated further import restrictions. Moreover, ADI plans to restart another blast furnace at its Taranto site this year, reaching a production capacity of 5.4mn t/yr. On the longs side, Italian output rose by just over one 1pc to 1.2mn t. By Carlo Da Cas Italian steel production '000t Product Mar 25 ±% Mar 24 Jan-Mar 25 ±% Jan-Mar 24 Crude steel 2,000 6.0 5,500 3.1 Long steel 1,200 1.2 3,100 -0.9 Flat steel 904 13,6 2,500 9.1 ― Federacciai German steel production '000t Product Mar 25 ±% Mar 24 Jan-Mar 25 ±% Jan-Mar 24 Crude steel 3,113 -11.3 8,495 -12.5 Oxygen steel 2,061 -14.8 5,755 -15.1 Electrical steel 1,052 -3.5 2,740 -6.4 Hot-rolled steel 2,787 -7.3 7,638 -10.9 ― WV Stahl Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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