Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Some Slippage but Nothing Radical

August 9, 2016

The hot rolled announcement has been made and the market is sifting through the results in order to figure out whether the results are good or bad for the steel industry. Of course, the answer to that question depends on what your end motivation is. Lower prices are good for manufacturing but bad for the steel mills.

We will wait to pass judgement and in the meantime take a look at what is happening with steel prices this week. Buyers have been expecting lower offers for a number of weeks and have been hard pressed to find them. We recorded some modest price reductions but nothing that should shake up the industry or cause steel buyers to rush out and buy more steel to restock the shelves.

Hot rolled prices are weaker and we heard from a number of buyers of offers on hot rolled in the $580-$590 range. We did not find any offers out there at a $575 base although you probably could get there when taking freight and extras into consideration. The other products appear to be holding their own and are expected to remain firm over the next few weeks as bookings appear to be good at this moment.

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $580-$630 per ton ($29.00/cwt- $31.50/cwt) with an average of $605 per ton ($30.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range decreased $10 per ton compared to one week ago while the upper end remained the same. Our overall average is down $5 per ton over last week. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is for prices to remain range-bound (+/- $20 per ton) over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-4 weeks

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $800-$840 per ton ($40.00/cwt- $42.00/cwt) with an average of $820 per ton ($41.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained the same compared to last week. Our overall average is unchanged over one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is for prices to remain range-bound (+/- $20 per ton) over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-8 weeks

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $40.00/cwt-$41.50/cwt ($800-$830 per ton) with an average of $40.75/cwt ($815 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to one week ago while the upper end declined $10 per ton. Our overall average is down $5 per ton over last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is for prices to be range bound (+/- $20 per ton) over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $860-$890 per net ton with an average of $875 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 5-9 weeks

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $40.00/cwt-$42.00/cwt ($800-$840 per ton) with an average of $41.00/cwt ($820 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to last week while the upper end declined $20 per ton. Our overall average is down $10 per ton over one week ago. Our price momentum on Galvalume steel is for prices to be range-bound (+/- $20 per ton) over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1091-$1131 per net ton with an average of $1111 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 6-8 weeks

SMU Note: Below is a graphic showing our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, and Galvalume price history. To use the graphs interactive capabilities, you must view it on our website here. If you need help navigating the website or need to know your login information, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by calling 800-432-3475.