SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Hot Rolled Tops $800

Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week shows another jump for both flat rolled and plate, taking the benchmark price for hot rolled steel to an average of $805 per ton. Sources commonly reported paying as much as $840 to secure hot rolled in a market where availability is becoming a critical issue. As one source told SMU: “No mill is currently entertaining any new spot orders.”

Gathering pricing data is unusually tricky in the current environment because there are so few spot transactions taking place. Adding to the challenge in assessing plate prices was the announcement by Nucor that it will no longer quote delivered prices, but rather will charge extras for freight depending on the buyer’s location. That makes it difficult to compare one mill’s price to another, at least until the other mills follow Nucor’s lead and change their approach as well. Steel Market Update’s Price Momentum Indicators for both flat rolled and plate continue to point higher for at least the next 30 days