Although the total impact Hurricane Harvey on the US domestic steel market has not been fully assessed, some believe that the storm could spur demand in early 2018.
Sources close to SteelOrbis point said that it’s currently estimated that between 700,000 and 1,000,000 vehicles have been totaled as a result of the floodwaters; although this isn’t expected to bolster automotive demand in the immediate future, it could boost new car sales in the early months of next year.
“Used car demand in the areas that were hit hardest by Hurricane Harvey is expected to climb once people start getting their insurance checks, and it’s suspected that if a lot of used car inventory is pulled into Texas from surrounding states, this could shore up new car sales in certain areas of the US, which could help push CRC lead times out, which would firm prices.”
At current, however, prices continue to remain stable and continue to trend at $39.50-$40.50 cwt. ($871-$893/mt or $790-$810/nt), ex-mill. How long current US price points will hold has yet to be determined; earlier today, AK Steel announced they would be raising US CRC prices by $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt), ex-mill, effective with all new orders.
US import CRC prices in the US domestic market from Russia, Turkey and Australia are also stable, at $35.50-$36.50 ($783-$805/mt or $710-$730/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, but it’s believed that offshore mills will soon revise offer prices upward due to continued upticks in global market pricing.