Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Stuck in Neutral...

Written by John Packard


As we look at our price indices for the week of September 8th we want to take a moment to advise our galvanized customers that we are revising our .060 G90 benchmark index to account for the change in zinc coating extras. After reviewing the changes made by the domestic steel mills we have decided to use the new U.S. Steel coating extra of $3.45/cwt as it is being used by more of the spot mills like Wheeling-Nisshin, The Techs and NLMK Pennsylvania (Sharon Coatings). When doing a historical comparison remember to account for the change from $3.00/cwt to $3.45/cwt.Steel buyers are telling Steel Market Update that the integrated mills still are not caught up as production issues (or past issues) continue to have their attention. AK Steel Ashland furnace will be going down for approximately 30 days for a reline of their hearth. We also understand that Gallatin will have a ten day outage that will begin at the end of September and Severstal Columbus (SDI Columbus) has maintenance scheduled for late October/early November.

Buyers tell us that they are still able to get their material within promised lead times and the domestic mills do not appear to be “chasing” any orders right now. We are in the Goldilocks zone – the right amount of supply handling the right amount of demand.

Last week at our Steel Summit Conference, John Ferriola, CEO of Nucor advised our group that there would not be any problems handling any extra demand on flat rolled – even if there is a disruption in the amount of foreign steel entering the country… He would not comment specifically to the rumor of a flat rolled dumping suit (or suits) on cold rolled and coated products.

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $640-$680 per ton ($32.00/cwt- $34.00/cwt) with an average of $660 per ton ($33.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to last week while the upper end decreased by $10 per ton. Our average is now $5 lower compared to one week ago. SMU price momentum for hot rolled steel is for prices to remain relatively stablel over the next 30 days. We understand that the Severstal Dearborn and Columbus steel mills will most likely change hands (AK Steel & SDI) in the next 30 days. We will need to watch to see if consolidation changes price momentum once the transition is complete.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-5 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $770-$790 per ton ($38.50/cwt- $39.50/cwt) with an average of $780 per ton ($39.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to one week ago while the upper end decreased by $20 per ton. Our average is now $10 lower compared to last week. SMU price momentum on cold rolled steel is for prices to remain relatively stable over the next 30 days. As with hot rolled above we will need to see if consolidation will impact momentum in the coming weeks.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $770-$800 per ton ($38.50/cwt- $40.00/cwt) with an average of $785 per ton ($39.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained the same compared to last week. Our average is unchanged compared to one week ago. SMU anticipates galvanized base prices will remain relatively stable over the next 30 days. As with HR and CR we will be watching the transition of the two Severstal facilities to see if consolidation will result in a change in pricing momentum.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $839-$869 per ton with an average of $854 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies. SMU Note: We are now using $3.45/cwt or $69 per ton extra in order to calculate the .060 G90 pricing.

Galvanized Lead Times: 4-9 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $770-$810 per ton ($38.50/cwt- $40.50/cwt) with an average of $790 per ton ($39.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to last week while the upper end decreased by $10 per ton. Our average is $5 lower compared to one week ago. Our expectation is for Galvalume prices to remain relatively stable over the next 30 days. Galvalume pricing should not be affected by the consolidation of Severstal as they do not produce the product. However, what may be impacted is the psychology of the market which could affect price momentum.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1061-$1101 per ton with an average of $1081 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

SMU Note: You can view the interactive graphic below when you are logged into the website and reading the newsletter online. If you have not logged into the website in the past and your username and password, contact us at: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by calling 800-432-3475. If you need help navigating the website we would also be happy to assist you.

{amchart id=”110″ Weekly Pricing Article Graph- Use for NEWSLETTER}

Latest in Steel Products Prices North America