Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: We Can't Ignore Special Deals

Written by Brett Linton

October 16, 2018

They may be off the table as of today, but late last week (and some buyers reported some still existing early this week) there were special deals – many tied to large tonnage – as the domestic mills attempted to fill their hot rolled order books. We did have a number of buyers and a couple of mills tell SMU bookings were strong last week and so far this week. We will watch prices carefully, and we may choose to revisit prices later this week to ensure that the numbers we are collecting on flat rolled are indeed up to date.

Plate prices continue to be stable, and we are not seeing any erosion in spot pricing there. In fact, many of the plate buyers are anticipating a January price increase out of the domestic mills.

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $760-$850 per ton ($38.00/cwt-$42.50/cwt) with an average of $805 per ton ($40.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined $40 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end fell $20 per ton. Our overall average is down $30 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is Neutral meaning we expect prices to remain steady over the next 30 to 60 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 3-5 weeks

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $880-$960 per ton ($44.00/cwt-$48.00/cwt) with an average of $920 per ton ($46.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range fell $40 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end remained the same. Our overall average is down $20 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is Neutral meaning we expect prices to remain steady over the next 30 to 60 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-8 weeks

Galvanized Coil: SMU base price range is $45.00/cwt-$48.00/cwt ($900-$960 per ton) with an average of $46.50/cwt ($930 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained the same compared to one week ago. Our overall average is unchanged compared to last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is Neutral meaning we expect prices to remain steady over the next 30 to 60 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU price range is $978-$1,038 per net ton with an average of $1,008 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 5-9 weeks

Galvalume Coil: SMU base price range is $46.50/cwt-$48.50/cwt ($930-$970 per ton) with an average of $47.50/cwt ($950 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $30 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end rose $10 per ton. Our overall average is up $20 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on Galvalume steel is Neutral meaning we expect prices to remain steady over the next 30 to 60 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU price range is $1,221-$1,261 per net ton with an average of $1,241 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 7-10 weeks

Plate: SMU price range is $960-$1,030 per ton ($48.00/cwt-$51.50/cwt) with an average of $995 per ton ($49.75/cwt) FOB delivered to the customer’s facility. The lower end of our range declined $20 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end remained the same. Our overall average is down $10 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on plate steel is Neutral meaning we expect stable prices once the mills open their December order books. The domestic plate mills continue to be on controlled order entry as their order books are strong with limited spot plate tonnage available.

Plate Lead Times: 6-10 weeks, allocation/controlled order entry

SMU Note: Below is a graphic showing our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate price history. This data is available here on our website with our interactive pricing tool. Note that plate prices are not yet available on our website, but we are in the process of adding that dataset. If you need help navigating the website or need to know your login information, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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