Steel Mills
Hot Rolled and Galvanized Price Spread Narrows
January 25, 2023
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and galvanized coil base prices has narrowed week over week, but has hovered around the $200-per-ton range since the end of November.
Figure 1 shows both SMU’s hot rolled and galvanized prices.
SMU’s HRC price averaged $760 per ton ($38 per cwt) as of Tuesday, Jan. 24, an increase from $740 per ton ($37 per cwt) one week earlier and $685 per ton ($34.25 per cwt) at the end of December.
Our latest galvanized price index averaged $950 per ton ($47.50 per cwt) Tuesday, up from $940 per ton ($47 per cwt) a week earlier and $885 per ton ($44.25 per cwt) a month ago.
Figure 2 details the premium of the galvanized price over hot rolled, according to SMU data.
The premium this week is $190 per ton, down from $200 per ton a week earlier and at the end of December.
We calculated the galvanized price premium over hot rolled as a percentage of hot-rolled prices, as shown in Figure 3. This is an attempt to paint a clearer comparison against historical pricing data.
The latest premium stands at 25% vs. 27% last week and 29% at the end of 2022.
By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com
Latest in Steel Mills
Nippon plans to double steel output at USS operations: Report
Now that it has acquired U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel is planning a significant expansion of its US operations, including the construction of a new mill and more than doubling its steel output.
Algoma fires up EAF steelmaking with first arc
Algoma Steel reached a milestone in its transformation from blast furnace to electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking, with its Unit One EAF achieving its first steel production this week.
Nucor holds HR list price at $910/ton
Nucor is keeping its list price for spot hot-rolled coil unchanged after last week’s shortened holiday week.
Cliffs unveils new hydrogen-powered stainless line in Ohio
CEO Lourenco Goncalves, flanked by state leaders and union reps, touted the project as proof that US manufacturing is not only alive, but also advancing.
Cliffs idles Steelton, Riverdale, and Conshohocken operations
Cliffs has idled facilities in Riverdale, Ill., and Conshohocken and Steelton, Pa.