Steel Products Prices North America
Comparison Price Indices: Pace of Slide Increases
Written by John Packard
October 15, 2017
The pace of the slide affecting flat rolled and plate steel prices quickened this past week. Steel Market Update (SMU) analyzed the price movements reported by Platts, SteelBenchmarker and SMU and found that almost every product was lower by the end of the week than it was the previous week.
Benchmark hot rolled broke through $600 per ton on both Platts ($599) and SMU ($587.50), with the only index still reporting HRC averaging more than $600 being SteelBenchmarker ($610).
Cold rolled prices dropped $16 per ton on both Platts ($790) and SteelBenchmarker ($781), while SMU remained the same at $785 per ton.
Galvanized .060” G90 price average dropped $15 per ton last week, while Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 remained the same as the prior week.
Plate prices dropped on SMU index and SteelBenchmarker, while Platts has remained the same. However, when comparing the numbers, you need to realize that the SMU $660 per ton average is a delivered price and not FOB a mill like Platts and SteelBenchmarker.
SMU Note: Galvanized prices include $78 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.
Plate price FOB points are different for each of the indexes:
SMU: FOB Delivered to the Customer (includes freight)
Platts: FOB Southeaster Mill (does not include freight)
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
Atlas Tube up $50/ton following NLMK USA sheet price hike
Atlas Tube, in a leading move, said it aims to increase prices for mechanical tubing, hollow structural sections (HSS), and piling products by at least $50 per short ton (st).
NLMK USA up $50/ton on HR and CR, up $100/ton on coated
NLMK USA plans to increase prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil by at least $50 per short ton (st). The move is effective immediately for all spot orders, the steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Friday.
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet floor holds as market debates upside
Our average HR coil price increased $5/short ton from last week, marking a second consecutive week of modest gains. Market participants generally attributed the increase to...
Thin demand keeps plate prices hovering at lowest levels since February
Participants in the domestic plate market say spot prices appear to have hit the floor, and they continue to linger there. They say demand for steel remains thin, with plate products no exception.
SMU Price Ranges: HR crawls back to $800/ton
SMU’s HR price stands at $800/st on average, up $5/st from last week. The modest gain came as the low end of our range firmed, and despite the high end of our range declining slightly.