News

A quick look at a few of the bigger things affecting our business this week.

Steel: Spot tons are getting genuinely hard to find. Hot-rolled coil is now pushing toward $1,300/ton in some transactions, and mills are increasingly turning away spot business in favor of contract customers. Plate is even tighter — lead times have doubled compared to a year ago. On top of that, steel exports fell 8% in July after hitting a 17-month high in June, another sign that domestic supply is staying at home rather than heading overseas. If you’ve been holding off on a purchase hoping for better terms, this isn’t the environment for it.

Oil: We just crossed a real milestone. Brent crude broke $100 a barrel on September 9, closing at $101.21 — its highest level since May. WTI jumped to $96.05, and ANS closed at $99.07 the day before. Both benchmarks are up 60% year-to-date. The EIA’s latest outlook confirms this isn’t just a blip: global oil prices averaged $91/barrel in August, up $7 from July, driven by falling global inventories — down 400 million barrels this year and expected to keep falling through year-end. The agency now forecasts Brent averaging around $90 for the second half of the year. This is elevated and durable, not a spike we should expect to fade quickly.

Infrastructure: Quiet week here — no new developments since the funding extension was signed into law September 2. Still tracking toward the December 11 deadline for the next round.

Bottom line: Steel is as tight as it’s been all year with spot tons hard to come by, oil just cleared a symbolic $100 threshold on genuinely bullish fundamentals, and infrastructure funding remains stable through early December. Reach out if you want to talk through what any of this means for your project.

A quick look at a few of the bigger things affecting our business this week.

Steel: Sixth straight week of increases. Nucor raised hot-rolled coil another $5/ton on August 31, and domestic HR coil prices are up roughly 9.4% for the month of August alone. Same drivers as the past two months — tight supply, low imports, mills holding pricing power. Still no sign of a ceiling.

Oil: After a brief pullback in late August on hopes of an Iran-Oman deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, prices have climbed right back — Brent is up nearly 11% over the past month and back near $97. The diplomatic progress hasn’t translated into real de-escalation: the U.S. continues hawkish rhetoric against any shipping corridor deal, and both sides have kept up strikes on vessels. On top of that, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve just fell to its lowest level since 1982, which limits our own cushion if things escalate further. Volatile and elevated remains the theme.

Infrastructure: Resolved, for now. The House passed the Senate’s stopgap funding bill 370-48 on September 1, and President Trump signed it into law September 2 — avoiding the September 30 cliff and extending highway/transit funding through December 11. The catch we flagged a few weeks back is still real, though: the extension doesn’t include the advance appropriations that fund transit and passenger rail grants, so those programs are looking at real cuts (APTA estimates transit funding around 20% below this year’s levels) even with the government funding fight avoided. Core state highway formula funding is in solid shape either way.

Bottom line: Steel keeps climbing with no relief, oil is back near its highs despite some diplomatic progress, and the immediate government shutdown risk is off the table, though grant-funded transit work still faces real cuts. Reach out if you want to talk through what any of this means for your project.

A quick look at a few of the bigger things affecting our business this week.

Steel: Fifth straight week of increases. Nucor raised hot-rolled coil another $10/ton to $1,180 for the week of August 24, bringing the total climb to roughly $55/ton over the past five weeks. Same story as always — tight domestic supply and low imports, no ceiling in sight yet.

Oil: A real reversal this time, and a hopeful one. Iran and Oman announced an agreement to jointly manage and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, including a proposed “joint temporary navigational corridor.” Prices dropped hard on the news — ANS fell $3.47 to close at $87.68, WTI dropped $2.65 to $82.36, and Brent fell $3.59 to $88.58. It’s the first genuinely constructive development we’ve seen on this front in weeks. Still too early to call it settled, but worth watching whether it holds.

Infrastructure: Decision time is close. The House returned from recess on August 24 and is expected to vote on the Senate’s stopgap funding bill this week, well ahead of the September 30 deadline. If it passes as written, the highway/transit funding cliff moves to December 11. We should know either way very soon.

Bottom line: Steel keeps climbing with no letup, oil just had its best week of news in a while on the Hormuz front, and infrastructure funding should get resolved one way or another in the next few days. Reach out if you want to talk through what any of this means for your project.

Steel: Steel Market Update, Yieh Corp. Oil: Petroleum News. Infrastructure: Washington Times, AASHTO, Roll Call. Posted weekly for our customers — not investment advice.

A quick look at a few of the bigger things affecting our business this week.

Steel: Prices are still climbing, just at a slower pace. Nucor raised hot-rolled coil another $5/ton to $1,160, with its West Coast joint venture up to $1,220. SMU’s broader average actually held flat week over week at $1,180/ton — the first real pause in weeks. One thing worth watching: steel import licenses jumped 9% in July, the highest level since last summer. That’s still a small crack in the wall, not a flood, but it’s the first sign that some import relief could be on the way eventually.

Oil: A rough week, and it’s not over. Talks between Oman and Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz fell apart on August 10 after Iran came back with a list of demands — full U.S. troop withdrawal, unfreezing assets, reparations, tolls on ships — that one analyst compared to “a child’s wish list to Santa Claus.” ANS jumped $4.58 that day to $83.11. Things got worse from there: Iran attacked two Abu Dhabi oil tankers in the strait midweek, and Brent is now up roughly 5% for the week, pushing toward $90-plus and within range of $100. On top of that, the interim U.S.-Iran ceasefire is set to formally expire today, and the IEA just warned of the widest global oil supply deficit in five years. No sign this settles down soon.

Infrastructure: Some real progress, with a catch. The Senate voted 90-6 to push the infrastructure funding deadline from September 30 out to December 11 — the House still needs to act, expected when they’re back in session late this month. But that extension only covers the core highway/transit authorizations, not the roughly $36.8 billion a year in advance appropriations that fund grant programs like Mega Grant, Bridge Formula, and rail/transit funding. Those programs are looking at cuts of 50-100% even with the extension in place. If any of your pipeline touches those specific grant programs rather than core highway funding, it’s worth checking which bucket it falls into.

Bottom line: Steel’s holding closer to flat for the first time in a while, oil is heading the wrong direction again with real geopolitical risk behind it, and infrastructure funding got a partial reprieve that doesn’t cover everything. Reach out if you want to talk through what any of this means for your project.

Steel: Steel Market Update, GMK Center, Yieh Corp. Oil: Petroleum News, Fortune, Barchart. Infrastructure: ENR, Roads & Bridges, Holland & Knight.

A quick look at a few of the bigger things affecting our business this week.

Steel: Prices keep climbing. Nucor raised its hot-rolled coil spot price for the third straight week, up another $10/ton to $1,155/ton, and its West Coast joint venture (California Steel Industries) went even higher, up $15 to $1,215/ton. SMU’s broader price indices are at multi-year highs across the board. The driver hasn’t changed — 50% Section 232 tariffs are keeping imports out and giving domestic mills room to keep raising prices. If you’ve been waiting for a dip, there’s still no sign of one.

Oil: Sharp reversal this week, the other direction for once. ANS dropped $6.08 on August 3 to close at $75.54, with WTI down $4.33 to $80.34 and Brent down $6.35 to $83.77, after President Trump paused U.S. hostilities again to give diplomacy with Iran another shot — reportedly with an outline in place to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. We’ve seen this pattern before this summer: prices spike on conflict, drop on ceasefire hope, then it’s anyone’s guess which way it breaks next. Don’t read too much into any single week’s number.

Infrastructure: Some actual good news here. The Senate has negotiated a continuing resolution that would extend highway and transit funding under the infrastructure law through December 11 — pushing back what had been a September 30 cliff. It’s contract authority only, not the full advance appropriations, and it still needs to pass, but it buys some breathing room for anyone with government-funded work on the books this fall.

Bottom line: Steel’s still climbing with no relief in sight, oil just swung back down on ceasefire hopes (don’t bank on it holding), and the infrastructure funding deadline just got a bit of breathing room, assuming the CR passes. Reach out if you want to talk through what any of this means for your project.

Steel: Steel Market Update, Nucor, Yieh Corp. Oil: Petroleum News. Infrastructure: FFIS, Congress.gov. 

A quick look at a few of the bigger things affecting our business this week.

Steel: Prices are holding at elevated levels, with hot-rolled coil still running in the $1,185-1,200/ton range — near the highest we’ve seen since June. Lead times remain stretched, with mills continuing to book well into fall. No real change from the last couple weeks, but no relief either.

Oil: Whiplash continues. The pause in U.S.-Iran fighting from July 24 barely lasted four days before it fell apart — Iran launched missile strikes on July 28, and Alaska North Slope crude, which had been sliding, reversed hard along with WTI and Brent. Add in the ongoing Houthi blockade in the Red Sea (Saudi Arabia is now pulling together a coalition of over 40 countries to protect shipping routes) and you’ve got a market that’s up roughly 24% for the month of July alone — one of the sharpest monthly moves in years. If your project planning touches oil prices at all, plan for continued volatility, not a settling-down.

Infrastructure: No major new developments this week, but the clock keeps ticking — current highway funding and what’s left of the infrastructure bill money both run out September 30, now about eight weeks away. If you’ve got government-funded work planned past that date, worth checking in on where that funding actually stands.

Bottom line: Steel’s steady but expensive, oil is more unpredictable than it’s been in years, and the infrastructure funding deadline is getting close. Plan ahead where you can. Reach out if you want to talk through what any of this means for your project.

Steel: Steel Market Update, Trading Economics. Oil: Petroleum News, Alaska Dept. of Revenue, Trading Economics. Infrastructure: CBO, Roll Call. Posted weekly for our customers — not investment advice.
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A quick look at a few of the bigger things affecting our business this week.

Steel: Prices are still climbing. Hot-rolled coil is averaging $1,165/ton now, up from $1,135 two weeks ago. The bigger issue is lead times — mills are quoting 7.8 weeks on average, the longest we’ve seen since 2021, and some are already booking into October. If you’ve got a project coming up, get your material locked in now rather than waiting.

Oil: Another volatile week. Houthi forces shut down Saudi shipping through the Red Sea on July 20, and the U.S. responded with eleven straight nights of strikes on Iran. ANS crude jumped from $76.87 to $81.28 over the week, and Brent briefly touched $100. That’s the third significant swing in a month. If your project planning depends on oil prices, build in room for things to move fast.

Infrastructure: The House passed a highway funding bill out of committee with strong bipartisan support, but CBO says it still leaves a real gap in the Highway Trust Fund — roughly $99.5 billion short for highways and $48.2 billion for transit through 2031, even with new EV fees included. Current highway funding, along with what’s left of the infrastructure bill money, runs out September 30. Worth keeping an eye on if you’ve got government-funded work planned for next year.

Bottom line: Steel keeps getting more expensive, oil remains unpredictable, and federal funding has a deadline coming up fast. All three point the same direction — plan ahead. Reach out if you want to talk through what any of this means for your project.