The benchmark price for hot-rolled steel reached a new record high of $1,080/ton last month, according to our check of the market Jan. 11-12. That surpasses the previous high of $1,070/ton recorded by Steel Market Update (SMU) in 2008, and it leaves steel buyers with some important questions:
As fabricators and manufacturers are well aware, steel is in tight supply. Mills idled capacity in the spring in response to the coronavirus shutdowns and have been in no rush to bring it all back online. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration continue to discourage imports. Demand among the steel-consuming industries is surprisingly robust, unlike the service sector of the economy, which is disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
