Steel Products Prices North America
SMU Survey: Service Center Spot Prices Falling
Written by John Packard
September 11, 2018
Manufacturing companies and service centers are in agreement, service center spot prices to their customers are negotiable and dropping.
Our most recent flat rolled steel market analysis conducted this past week found a growing percentage of manufacturing companies reporting their service center suppliers as lowering spot steel prices. At the beginning of July 2018, there were no manufacturing companies reporting prices as dropping from their service center suppliers. By mid-August, 17 percent of the manufacturers were reporting prices as falling. Last week that percentage increased 31 percent.
Steel distributors agreed with their manufacturing customers as 35 percent of service centers reported spot prices as moving lower than what they were quoting two weeks ago. This is more than double the 16 percent who reported higher spot prices during the middle of August analysis.
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
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.
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.