Steel Products Prices North America
SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Prices Starting to Move Higher
Written by John Packard
October 16, 2013
Steel Market Update (SMU) is seeing prices beginning to rise on all flat rolled products. With a couple minor exceptions mostly contained to the South, we have been seeing a united front and mills are telling SMU that they have been able to collect most, if not all, of the price increases announced. We continue to keep our SMU Price Momentum Indicator at Neutral this week in spite of the higher prices as we wait to see what impact the new pricing is having on order flow and the mill order books.
Here is how we are seeing flat rolled prices this week:
Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $640-$670 per ton ($32.00/cwt- $33.50/cwt) with an average of $655 per ton ($32.75/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased by $10 per ton compared to last week while the upper end increased by $20 per ton. Our average is now $15 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for hot rolled is not yet completely clear as mills are able to get higher prices but there is a question about the amount of orders being placed on the mills.
Hot Rolled Lead Times: 3-6 weeks.
Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $730-$780 per ton ($36.50/cwt- $39.00/cwt) with an average of $755 per ton ($37.75/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range decreased by $10 per ton compared to last week while the upper end increased by $20 per ton. Our average is now $5 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for cold rolled is not yet completely clear as mills are able to get higher prices but there is a question about the amount of orders being placed on the mills.
Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-8 weeks.
Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $730-$790 per ton ($36.50/cwt- $39.50/cwt) with an average of $760 per ton ($38.00/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range decreased by $10 per ton compared to last week while the upper end increased by $20 per ton. Our average is now $5 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for galvanized is not completely clear as the mills are able to collect higher prices this week but there is a question as to the amount of orders being placed on the mills.
Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $790-$850 per ton with an average of $820 per ton.
Galvanized Lead Times: 4-8 weeks.
Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $740-$790 per ton ($37.00/cwt- $39.50/cwt) with an average of $765 per ton ($38.25/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased by $10 per ton compared to last week and the upper end increased by $20 per ton. Our average is now $15 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for Galvalume is not completely clear as the mills have been able to collect higher prices this week but questions remain as to the amount of tonnage being placed at this time.
Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1031-$1081 per ton with an average of $1056 per ton.
Galvalume Lead Times: 5-8 weeks.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
HRC vs. prime scrap spread widens in June
The price spread between HRC and prime scrap widened in June.
SMU price ranges: Steel prices rise in response to tariffs
Steel prices climbed for a second straight week across all five sheet and plate products tracked by SMU.
Nucor lifts list price for spot HRC by $20/ton
The $20/short ton increase applies to all of the steelmaker’s sheet mills, including West Coast joint-venture subsidiary CSI.
Nucor pauses month-long slide in weekly HR price
Nucor halted a four-week decline in its spot price for hot-rolled coil this week, maintaining its weekly consumer spot price (CSP) at $870/st.
Nucor lowers HRC by $10/ton in fourth straight cut
Nucor has lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil by $10 per short ton (st), marking the fourth consecutive weekly decrease.