Steel Products Prices North America
SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Did the Bottom Just Drop Out?
Written by Brett Linton
June 11, 2019
Last week I spoke with Mark Millett, CEO of SDI, and he said to me, “Crazy market, isn’t it?” That is proving to be an understatement. Our price indices took major hits this week as we saw prices drop across the board. We heard the drop was blamed on scrap, on short lead times, on reductions in demand and negative sentiment. The bottom line is prices are significantly lower than what we published last week.
Here is how we see prices this week:
Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $520-$580 per ton ($26.00/cwt-$29.00/cwt) with an average of $550 per ton ($27.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined $20 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end fell $50 per ton. Our overall average is down $35 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 days.
Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-5 weeks
Cold Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $680-$740 per ton ($34.00/cwt-$37.00/cwt) with an average of $710 per ton ($35.50/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 declined $50 per ton. Our overall average is down $45 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is now at Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.
Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-8 weeks
Galvanized Coil: SMU base price range is $34.00/cwt-$37.00/cwt ($680-$740 per ton) with an average of $35.50/cwt ($710 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined $30 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end fell $50 per ton. Our overall average is down $40 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is now at Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.
Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU price range is $758-$818 per net ton with an average of $788 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvanized Lead Times: 4-8 weeks
Galvalume Coil: SMU base price range is $36.00/cwt-$37.00/cwt ($720-$740 per ton) with an average of $36.50/cwt ($730 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 declined $50 per ton. Our overall average is down $35 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on Galvalume is now at Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.
Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU price range is $1,011-$1,031 per net ton with an average of $1,021 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvalume Lead Times: 6-7 weeks
Plate: SMU price range is $800-$890 per ton ($40.00/cwt-$44.50/cwt) with an average of $845 per ton ($42.25/cwt) FOB delivered to the customer’s facility. The lower end of our range fell $70 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end declined $30 per ton. Our overall average is down $50 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on plate steel is Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.
Plate Lead Times: 4-6 weeks
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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