Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Hot Rolled Drops, Other Products Flat to Up

Written by Brett Linton

March 26, 2019

Hot rolled is the weakest product and our HRC average priced dropped due to lower prices collected out of two minimills. We understand one mill is offering even lower numbers for large tonnage, but we did not include that in our numbers for this evening as we want to speak directly with the mill to confirm what we are being told. Coated steels, galvanized and Galvalume, are the strongest products. Plate continues to drift sideways as we collected a large number of data sources on plate this week.

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $650-$720 per ton ($32.50/cwt-$36.00/cwt) with an average of $685 per ton ($34.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range fell $40 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end remained unchanged. Our overall average is down $20 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is now Higher, meaning we expect prices to rise over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 3-6 weeks

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $810-$850 per ton ($40.50/cwt-$42.50/cwt) with an average of $830 per ton ($41.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range rose $20 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end increased $10 per ton. Our overall average is up $15 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is now Higher, meaning we expect prices to rise over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-8 weeks

Galvanized Coil: SMU base price range is $41.50/cwt-$43.50/cwt ($830-$870 per ton) with an average of $42.50/cwt ($850 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range rose $20 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end remained unchanged. Our overall average is up $10 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is now Higher, meaning we expect prices to rise over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU price range is $908-$948 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 $41.50/cwt-$43.50/cwt ($830-$870 per ton) with an average of $42.50/cwt ($850 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $20 compared to last week, while the upper end rose $10 per ton. Our overall average is up $15 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on Galvalume steel is now Higher, meaning we expect prices to rise over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU price range is $1,121-$1,161 per net ton with an average of $1,141 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 6-7 weeks

Plate: SMU price range is $960-$1,040 per ton ($48.00/cwt-$52.00/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 $10 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end rose $40 per ton. Our overall average is up $15 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on plate steel is Neutral, meaning we expect prices to remain steady over the next 30 days.

Plate Lead Times: 5-8 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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