Steel Products Prices North America

Comparison Price Indices: CRU Plays Catch Up
Written by John Packard
September 27, 2015
Last week three of the four steel indices followed by Steel Market Update reported flat rolled steel price averages for the week. We saw large double digit declines in the CRU on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized while Platts only saw movement in hot rolled. Steel Market Update captured declines in hot rolled, cold rolled and Galvalume.
Benchmark hot rolled prices dropped this past week. SMU had the lowest average at $430 per ton followed by CRU at $434 and then Platts at $440 per ton. Combined the average was $435 per ton which is down $12 per ton from the previous week.
Cold rolled saw the tightest spread between the three indexes as SMU and Platts were at $560 per ton and CRU was three dollars higher at $563 per ton. The average for the week as down $13 per ton from the previous week.
Galvanized saw CRU catching up to where Steel Market Update has been for awhile. CRU dropped $15 per ton to $635 per ton for .060” G90 galvanized coil. SMU remain unchanged at $629 per ton.
SMU dropped Galvalume pricing by $5 per ton to $871 for .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 product.
Plate prices matched up last week as CRU dropped their average by $4 per ton to $515 per ton and Platts remained the same at $515 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 The weeks where they do not produce numbers (NA = not available) we will not include their outdated numbers in the CPI average.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

Nucor CSP remains level at $900/ton
Nucor maintained its weekly list price for hot-rolled (HR) coil this week, following two consecutive increases.

Cliffs raises prices, seeks $950/ton for July spot HR
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to increase prices for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $950 per short ton (st) with the opening of its July spot order book. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the price hike was effective immediately in a letter to customers dated Monday.

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.