Steel Prices
SMU price ranges: Steel prices rise in response to tariffs
Written by Brett Linton
June 10, 2025
Steel prices climbed for a second straight week across all five sheet and plate products tracked by SMU.
The market appears to be inching higher in response to President Trump’s 50% tariff announcement on steel and aluminum, though gains are not nearly as strong as the surge seen back in February following the initial tariff news.
Hot-rolled coil (HRC) prices increased the most this week, rising $15 per short ton (st) to $860/st. Cold-rolled and galvanized coil prices each rose $10/st week over week (w/w) to $1,070/st and $1,040/st, respectively. Galvalume edged up $5/st from the previous week to $1,065/st, while plate increased $10/st to $1,135/st.
SMU’s price momentum indicator has been adjusted from Neutral to Higher for all sheet and plate products, signaling that we foresee prices will increase from here.
Refer to Table 1 (click to enlarge) for our latest price indices and trends.
Hot-rolled coil
The SMU price range is $800-920/st, averaging $860/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is up $20/st w/w, while the top end is up $10/st. Our overall average is up $15/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for hot-rolled steel has been adjusted to higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.
Hot rolled lead times range from 3-6 weeks, averaging 4.2 weeks as of our May 29 market survey. We will update our lead times data this Thursday.
Cold-rolled coil
The SMU price range is $1,020–1,120/st, averaging $1,070/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is up $20/st w/w, while the top end is unchanged. Our overall average is up $10/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for cold-rolled steel has been adjusted to higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.
Cold rolled lead times range from 5-8 weeks, averaging 6.0 weeks through our latest survey.
Galvanized coil
The SMU price range is $960–1,120/st, averaging $1,040/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is up $20/st. Our overall average is up $10/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for galvanized steel has been adjusted to higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.
Galvanized .060” G90 benchmark: SMU price range is $1,038–1,198/st, averaging $1,118/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvanized lead times range from 4-7 weeks, averaging 5.7 weeks through our latest survey.
Galvalume coil
The SMU price range is $1,010–1,120/st, averaging $1,065/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is up $10/st w/w, while the top end is unchanged. Our overall average is up $5/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for Galvalume steel has been adjusted to higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.
Galvalume .0142” AZ50, grade 80 benchmark: SMU price range is $1,278–1,388/st, averaging $1,333/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvalume lead times range from 5-7 weeks, averaging 5.9 weeks through our latest survey.
Plate
The SMU price range is $1,010–1,260/st, averaging $1,135/st FOB mill. Our entire range shifted $10/st higher w/w. Our price momentum indicator for plate has been adjusted to higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.
Plate lead times range from 4-7 weeks, averaging 5.2 weeks through our latest survey.
SMU note: Above is a graphic showing our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume, and plate price history. This data is also available on our website with our interactive pricing tool. If you need help navigating the website or need to know your login information, contact us at info@steelmarketupdate.com.
Brett Linton
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