Steel Products Prices North America

Comparison Price Indices: More Double Digit Gains
Written by John Packard
December 11, 2016
We saw double digit gains in both our indices as well as those of Platts. Benchmark hot rolled rose to $580 per ton average according to the SMU index which is up $30 per ton from one week earlier. By the end of this past week Platts saw their average up $20 per ton to $590 per ton.
Cold rolled averages also moved higher and, like hot rolled, we have a $10 per ton spread between Platts and SMU average for the product. Steel Market Update saw cold rolled as being $30 per ton higher than the prior week while Platts was up $10 per ton. SMU average came in at $790 per ton while Platts came in at $800 per ton average.
SMU also moved both our galvanized and Galvalume averages higher. We saw GI as being up $25 per ton (.060” G90) at $859 per ton. Galvalume is up $15 per ton to $1081 per ton for .0142” AZ50, Grade 80.
Plate prices did not move off the $550 per ton reported by Platts the week before last. With the mills announcing a price increase on plate we expect there to be some movement this coming week.
SteelBenchmarker did not report prices this past week.
Galvanized prices include $69 in extras for a .060″ G90 product. Galvalume prices include $291 in extras for a .0142” AZ50 Grade 80 product.
FOB points for each index:
SMU: Domestic 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 The weeks where they do not produce numbers (NA = not available) we will not include their outdated numbers in the CPI average.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
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