Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Slip Sliding Away
Written by Brett Linton
December 18, 2018
We saw benchmark hot rolled prices slip this week. Hot rolled dropped to $745 per ton, which is down $15 per ton from what we measured one week ago. Cold rolled prices were unchanged. The lower end of the range on galvanized and Galvalume base prices slipped $20 per ton. The Steel Market Update Price Momentum Indicator continues to point toward lower steel spot pricing over the next 30 days on all flat rolled products. We do not believe plate prices will follow flat rolled down, at least not over the next 30 days.
Here is how we see prices this week:
Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $710-$780 per ton ($35.50/cwt-$39.00/cwt) with an average of $745 per ton ($37.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range fell $30 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end remained unchanged. Our overall average is down $15 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is Lower meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 to 60 days.
Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-5 weeks
Cold Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $840-$880 per ton ($42.00/cwt-$44.00/cwt) with an average of $860 per ton ($43.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained unchanged compared to last week. Our overall average remained the same compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is Lower meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 to 60 days.
Cold Rolled Lead Times: 4-7 weeks
Galvanized Coil: SMU base price range is $41.00/cwt-$44.00/cwt ($820-$880 per ton) with an average of $42.50/cwt ($850 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range fell $20 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end remained unchanged. Our overall average is down $10 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is Lower meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 to 60 days.
Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU price range is $898-$958 per net ton with an average of $928 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvanized Lead Times: 5-8 weeks
Galvalume Coil: SMU base price range is $41.00/cwt-$44.50/cwt ($820-$890 per ton) with an average of $42.75/cwt ($855 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined $20 compared to last week, while the upper end rose $10 per ton. Our overall average is down $5 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on Galvalume steel is Lower meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 to 60 days.
Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU price range is $1,111-$1,181 per net ton with an average of $1,146 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvalume Lead Times: 5-7 weeks
Plate: SMU price range is $970-$1,030 per ton ($48.50/cwt-$51.50/cwt) with an average of $1,000 per ton ($50.00/cwt) FOB delivered to the customer’s facility. The lower end of our range fell $20 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end remained unchanged. 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 over the next 30 days. 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: 5-9+ 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
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