Steel Products Prices North America

End of the Year Comparison Price Indices Analysis
Written by John Packard
January 3, 2017
We ended 2016 with a semblance of agreement as to where flat rolled steel prices stood. The table below is for last week and does not include price adjustments that may have been made this week.
Hot rolled prices now average more than $600 per ton with SMU at $610 per ton and SteelBenchmarker $608 per ton while Platts remained at $595 per ton as the week closed. (SMU Note: SteelBenchmarker only produces their averages twice per month)
Cold rolled prices averaged more than $800 per ton with SMU and Platts at $810 per ton and SteelBenchmarker slightly below at $788 per ton.
Galvanized and Galvalume were unchanged for the week.
Plate prices ended the week with Platts at $590 per ton and SteelBenchmarker at $611 per ton.
SMU Note: 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 except plate which is FOB Southeastern Mill

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

Cliffs moves sheet prices higher, seeks $1,100/ton HRC
Cleveland-Cliffs is now targeting base prices of $1,100 per ton ($55 per cwt) for hot-rolled coil (HRC).

SMU price ranges: Sheet surge continues on limited spot availability
Sheet prices shot higher again this week on the heels of another round of mill price increases as well as on reports of production and supply chain issues at certain domestic producers.

Galvanized Sheet’s Premium Over Hot Rolled Hovering Around $200/Ton
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized sheet base prices has been hovering near $200 per net ton since late July, according to SMU’s latest analysis.

Plate Report: Quiet Turning to Sluggish?
The US plate market has been rather quiet over the past couple of weeks since Nucor Corp. caught many off guard with a $140-per-ton price cut.

SSAB’s Jeff Moskaluk on Wind’s Flurry of Opportunity for Steel
SMU discussed wind energy, a promising end-use market for steel, with SSAB Americas’ SVP and CCO Jeff Moskaluk.