Steel Products
SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Some Modest Gains Made
Written by John Packard
February 6, 2013
The bottom end of our range exhibited some “tightening” over the past week – although not as much as one might expect in light of the size of the price increase announcements made by the domestic mills. Based on survey results the bottom end of the range for our benchmark hot rolled coil is no longer below $600 per ton. In fact, with the exception of cold rolled, each of the products we provide price assessments has seen the bottom end of their range rise modestly over the past week and, in some cases, we have also captured a very modest increase in the upper end of our range as well.
Here is how we see spot prices this week:
Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $600-$640 per ton ($30.00/cwt-$32.00/cwt) with an average of $620 per ton ($31.00/cwt), fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range improved by $20 per ton compared to where it was this time last week. The upper end of our range remained intact while our average rose by $10 per ton. The trend for hot rolled continues to be neutral as we watch how the market will react to scrap prices dropping while the domestic mills push for higher prices.
Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-5 weeks.
Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Price Range is $700-$740 per ton ($35.00/cwt-$37.00/cwt) with an average of $720 per ton ($36.00/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper end of our range remained the same as one week ago. Our average also remained the same as it was one week earlier. The trend for CR is neutral as we watch how the market will react to the decline in scrap prices while the domestic mills push for higher steel prices.
Cold Rolled Lead Times: 4-7 weeks.
Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $35.50/cwt-$37.00/cwt with an average of $36.25/cwt plus applicable extras, fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range improved (rose) by $10 per ton compared to one week ago. The upper end of our range remained the same as this time last week. Our average has adjusted higher by $5 per ton ($.25/cwt) compared to one week ago. The trend for galvanized continues to be neutral as we watch to see how the market will react to the decline in scrap prices, watch mill lead times and production, and see if the domestic mills are able to collect more of the announced price increases in the days ahead.
Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $770-$800 per ton with an average of $785 per ton.
Galvanized Lead Times: 3-6 weeks.
Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $36.00/cwt-$37.50/cwt with an average of $36.75/cwt plus applicable extras, fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range rose by $20 per ton compared to where we were one week ago. The upper end of our range improved by $10 per ton during the same time period. The trend for Galvalume is neutral (same as galvanized above) pending the market’s reaction to scrap, lead times and the ability of the domestic mills to collect more of the announced price increases from here.
Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1011-$1041 per ton with an average of $1026 per ton.
Galvalume Lead Times: 5-8 weeks.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products
Active rig count update through mid-May
Drilling activity ticked up in the US but declined in Canada during the week ended May 17, according to the latest release from Baker Hughes.
Mexico’s TYASA breaks ground on SBQ rolling mill
Mexican steelmaker Talleres y Aceros (TYASA) broke ground this month on the construction of a new special bar quality (SBQ) rolling mill in the state of Veracruz.
Biden hikes tariffs on Chinese goods, including steel and aluminum
The Biden administration announced a series of actions on Tuesday targeting China’s "unfair" trade policies. These actions will, among other things, make imports of steel and aluminum from the Asian nation even more prohibitive.
Nucor holds weekly HRC price steady after last week’s cut
Nucor chose to hold its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil steady this week after stunning the market last week with a significant price decline. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday morning that its $760-per-short-ton (st) CSP base price for HR coil is effective immediately. The price is unchanged from the CSP announced on May 6 but down $65/st from $825/st April 29.
US CR tags ease, premium over imports still high
Offshore cold-rolled (CR) coil prices remain much less expensive than domestic product, even as domestic prices have slipped to a six-month low, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.