Steel Products Prices North America

Long Lead Times at AK Steel Helping to Keep CR Spot Prices High
Written by John Packard
January 26, 2014
Steel buyers are confiding in Steel Market Update and have been telling us that the tightness in cold rolled spot prices, which this past week SMU had as being $760-$820 per ton ($38.00/cwt-$41.00/cwt), is partially due to the extended lead times at AK Steel.
According to steel buyers, AK Steel had to deal with “the perfect storm,” a growing automotive order book while trying to catch up on more than a month’s lost production. AK Steel was behind on their orders back in June when the mill had furnace issues and ultimately had an unplanned outage on their blast furnace at Middletown. They have been trying to catch up ever since. The net result being the mill has had limited influence on the spot markets. Buyers who buy from AK Steel are telling SMU their spot cold rolled number is around $41.50/cwt and lead times are out until the week of May 19th.
One service center told SMU that they haven’t asked AK for a spot number as, “They are promising my March orders in May.”
Cold rolled spot prices in the Midwest was referenced by a number of service centers as being $39.00/cwt-$41.00/cwt base price ranges while the Southeast was reported to be at least $20 per ton less expensive.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
September Import Share of US Sheet and Plate Markets
Imported sheet and plate products arrived at US ports at a slower clip in September, accounting for a lower share of the domestic market for the third straight month. That’s according to a Steel Market Update analysis of import data from the US Commerce Department and domestic shipment figures from the American Iron and Steel […]
US Apparent Steel Supply Falls Further in September
US apparent steel supply eased further in September, down 8% from August to 8.29 million net tons, according to data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). As the lowest monthly figure since February 2021, this was a 19-month low. September supply was 10% below the average monthly rate […]
Northwest Pipe Reports Sharply Higher Q3 Results
Engineered pipe and tube producer Northwest Pipe Co. posted sharply higher profits for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. The Vancouver, Wash.-based company said the boost was driven by strong demand and increasing backlogs from its engineered pipeline systems and precast products, according to earnings data released on Tuesday, Nov. 8 All told, Northwest Pipe posted net […]
SMU Price Ranges: Flat-Rolled Steel Falls (Yet Again)
Sheet prices fell across the board again this week as the slow grind lower that we’ve seen since last spring continued to gain speed. Hot-rolled coil prices fell $30 per ton ($1.50 per cwt) week-over-week. Declines in coated products were more pronounced, with cold rolled down $55 per ton, galvanized down $35 per ton, and […]
US Steel Exports Slip 10% in September
US steel export volumes shrunk 10% from August to September, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. 723,000 net tons of steel products exited the country during the month, now the fourth-lowest monthly export rate over the past year and a half. Recall that exports levels in August were at the third-highest monthly rate […]
