Prices
SMU Price Ranges: Market drifts lower still
Written by Brett Linton
August 12, 2025
Steel prices edged lower again this week across all sheet and plate products tracked by SMU, weighed down by short lead times, soft demand, and the typical summer slowdown. All five of our sheet and plate indices have eased to lows last seen in February. Tighter trade barriers and lower imports have not been enough to offset tepid buying, dragging the market lower.
Hot-rolled coil and plate prices both declined $10 per short ton (st) from last week to $820/st and $1,055/st, respectively.
Tandem products saw slightly larger declines, each falling $15/st week over week (w/w). Our latest cold-rolled coil index is at $1,000/st, galvanized at $965/st (base), and Galvalume at $990/st (base).
SMU’s price momentum indicator remains at neutral for all sheet and plate products, indicating we foresee no strong price direction shift over the next 30 days.
Refer to Table 1 (click to enlarge) for our latest price indices and trends.
Hot-rolled coil
The SMU price range is $760–880/st, averaging $820/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Our entire range shifted $10/st lower w/w. Our price momentum indicator for hot-rolled steel remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.
Hot rolled lead times range from 3–7 weeks, averaging 4.4 weeks as of our August 7 market survey.
Cold-rolled coil
The SMU price range is $920–1,080/st, averaging $1,000/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $30/st w/w, while the top end is unchanged. Our overall average is down $15/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for cold rolled remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.
Cold rolled lead times range from 5–8 weeks, averaging 6.2 weeks through our latest survey.
Galvanized coil
The SMU price range is $870–1,060/st, averaging $965/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $30/st w/w, while the top end is unchanged. Our overall average is down $15/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for galvanized steel remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.
Galvanized .060” G90 benchmark: SMU price range is $948–1,138/st, averaging $1,043/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvanized lead times range from 4–8 weeks, averaging 6.2 weeks through our latest survey.
Galvalume coil
The SMU price range is $920–1,060/st, averaging $990/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $40/st w/w, while the top end is up $10/st. Our overall average is down $15/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for Galvalume steel remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.
Galvalume .0142” AZ50, grade 80 benchmark: SMU price range is $1,188–1,328/st, averaging $1,258/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvalume lead times range from 5–8 weeks, averaging 6.3 weeks through our latest survey.
Plate
The SMU price range is $970–1,140/st, averaging $1,055/st FOB mill. The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is down $20/st. Our overall average is down $10/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for plate remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.
Plate lead times range from 4–7 weeks, averaging 5.1 weeks through our latest survey.
SMU note: The graphic above shows a history of our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume, and plate prices. This data is also available on our website with our interactive pricing tool. If you need help navigating the site or logging in, contact us at info@steelmarketupdate.com.
Brett Linton
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