Steel Products Prices North America

Comparison Price Indices: Price Slide Slows but Does Not End
Written by John Packard
April 12, 2015
The pace of the flat rolled steel price slide slowed this past week, based on an analysis of the various steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update. As the pace slows, the spread between indexes also tends to get tighter due to fewer variations in the data collected.
Looking at benchmark hot rolled, Steel Market Update now has the highest average at $460 per ton with CRU at $454 and Platts at $452.50 (SteelBenchmarker did not report prices this past week).
The spread on cold rolled tightened quite a bit as Platts moved to $580 (same as SMU) and CRU dropped to $575 per ton.
Galvanized .060″ G90 prices dropped at both CRU and SMU but there is a $13 per ton spread between the two indexes. We will speak with CRU sometime this week to see if they will be addressing the coating extra being used for .060″ G90 as US Steel made a change back to pre-October 2014 extras.
Plate prices also dropped this past week with Platts down $10 and CRU down $6 per ton.
FOB Points for each index:
SMU: Domestic Mill, East of the Rockies.
CRU: Midwest Mill, East of the Rockies.
SteelBenchmarker: Domestic Mill, East of the Mississippi.
Platts: Northern Indiana Domestic Mill.
Note that SteelBenchmarker produces numbers twice per month. On the weeks they produce numbers we will include them in the average. The weeks where they do not produce numbers (NA = not available) we will not include their outdated numbers in the CPI average.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

Domestic plate prices could heat up despite so-so demand, market sources say
Some sources also speculated that plate could see further price increases thanks to modest but steady demand, lower imports, mill maintenance outages, and end markets less immediately affected by tariff-related disruptions.

SMU Price Ranges: HR holds, galv slips amid competing market narratives
SMU’s sheet and plate prices see-sawed this week as hot-rolled (HR) coil prices held their ground while prices for galvanized product slipped.

Nucor carries $875/ton HR list price into week seven
Nucor is keeping hot-rolled (HR) coil prices unchanged again this week, according to its latest consumer spot price (CSP) notice issued on Monday, Oct. 6

SMU Price Ranges: A newsy week sees modest price gains despite a quiet spot market
Market participants predicted that prices should be at or near a bottom. But while most seemed to agree on that point, many also said they saw little upside given a quiet spot market and ongoing concerns about demand.

Nucor increases plate prices by $60/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $60 per short ton with the opening of its November order book.