Steel Products Prices North America
Comparison Price Indices: Never Ending Slide Continues
Written by John Packard
November 15, 2015
Flat rolled and plate prices continued to erode this past week according to the various steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update. With the exception of SteelBenchmarker (who tends to be behind the other indexes due to it only collecting market price intelligence twice per month), all of the indexes are showing hot rolled prices as being significantly below $400 per ton and moving toward a seven year price low for each of the indexes. Steel Market Update HRC average price is at its 7 year low point, last achieved in June 2009 at the height of the Great Recession.
As the week ended, SMU and Platts both had their HR index at $380 per ton ($19.00/cwt) followed by CRU at $387 per ton and then SteelBenchmarker which reported HR as being $406 per ton.
Cold rolled prices also fell on all four steel indexes as SMU and Platts moved their CR index to $510 per ton, CRU $514 and again SteelBenchmarker was the highest at $521 per ton.
Galvanized dropped to $568 and $570 per ton for .060” G90 on CRU and SMU respectively.
Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 dropped $15 per ton to $821 per ton.
Plate prices dropped to $464 on CRU, $470 on Platts and $475 per ton on SteelBenchmarker.
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.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
SMU successfully completes IOSCO review
SMU has successfully completed an external review of all our prices. The review has concluded that they algin with principles set by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
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.