Prices
June 29, 2021
Written by Brett Linton
Flat rolled steel prices continued to move higher with benchmark hot rolled coil spot prices now up for the 47th week in a row.
But when we looked at HRC, we found prices up only by $10 per ton. This is the lowest rate of increase since mid-March/early April, when we saw HRC increase by a modest (by 2021 standards) $40 per ton over a four-week period.
Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 26, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,270 per short ton (st) this week, up $15/st from the prior week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,340/st, up $20/st from last week. Nucor continues to offer lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 20, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,290/st, up $10/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 27.
"Now, the problem is no longer the price. The problem is having access to steel." That would have made a good lead. But I can’t take credit for it. Those (very quotable) words are from Cleveland-Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves during the steelmaker’s quarterly earnings conference call on Monday. For a while, I thought the shortages we'd been hearing about might be mostly a problem for small- and mid-sized buyers. But we’re seeing even some of the biggest steel buyers talking openly about supply problems.
Sheet and plate prices continue to push higher as mills charge a premium for what little spot tonnage remains for 2026, market participants said. SMU’s price assessment for hot-rolled (HR) coil now stands at $1,290 per short ton (st) on average, up $10/st week over week. HR price gains averaged $5/st w/w throughout July and August, with no changes in prices some weeks and gains of at most $15/st w/w. In September and October to date, in contrast, prices have increased every week—with the average gain at $11.25/st w/w and w/w gains as high as $20/st. Prices for cold-rolled and coated products continued to increase as well. SMU's price assessment for cold-rolled (CR) coil clocked in at...
Nucor said on Monday, Oct. 19, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,255 per short ton (st) this week, up $15/st from the prior week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,320/st, also up $15/st from last week. Nucor still offers lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website.
The spread between domestic hot-rolled (HR) coil and prime scrap prices widened for the 13th consecutive month in October, hitting another multi-year high. SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price stands at $1,280 per short ton (st) on average this week, up $10/st from last week and a $40/st increase from a month earlier. Meanwhile, busheling averaged $480 per gross ton (gt) in October, rising $12.50/gt higher from September.