Market Data
January 20, 2026
SMU price ranges: Sheet moves higher, plate stalls
Written by Brett Linton
SMU’s sheet price indices climbed to new multi-month highs this week, while plate prices marginally declined.
Sheet prices have consistently held steady or moved higher each week since September and have risen $25-45 per short ton (st) over the past month. Plate had seen some momentum in the first two weeks of the year but slipped $5/st this week. Despite this, plate is up $30/st from late December levels.
Our hot-rolled coil index is now up to a 10-month high of $945/st, rising $10/st week over week (w/w). Cold rolled inched up $5/st to $1,105/st, a high last seen in April 2025.
Coated prices increased by varying degrees this week to reach nine-month highs. Galvanized rose $5/st w/w to $1,065/st, while Galvalume jumped $15/st to $1,095/st.
Our plate index declined $5/st w/w to $1,050/st, still close to a five-month high.
SMU’s price momentum indicator continues to point to higher for both sheet and plate products, signaling that we expect prices to increase further in the short term.
Refer to Table 1 (click to enlarge) for our latest price indices and trends.
Hot-rolled coil: $920–970/st, averaging $945/st
Our entire range is up $10/st w/w.
Hot-rolled lead times range from 4–9 weeks, averaging 6.1 weeks as of our Jan. 8 market survey. We will publish updated lead times on Thursday.
Cold-rolled coil: $1,080–1,130/st, averaging $1,105/st
The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is up $10/st. Our overall average is up $5/st w/w.
Cold-rolled lead times range from 6–10 weeks, averaging 7.6 weeks through our latest survey.
Galvanized coil: $1,030–1,100/st, averaging $1,065/st
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.
Galvanized .060” G90 benchmark: SMU price range is $1,108–1,178/st, averaging $1,143/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvanized lead times range from 6-10 weeks, averaging 7.4 weeks through our latest survey.
Galvalume coil: $1,060–1,130/st, averaging $1,095/st
The lower end of our range is up $10/st w/w, while the top end is up $20/st. Our overall average is up $15/st w/w.
Galvalume .0142” AZ50, grade 80 benchmark: SMU price range is $1,414–1,484/st, averaging $1,449/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.
Galvalume lead times range from 6–10 weeks, averaging 8 weeks through our latest survey.
Plate: $1,000–1,100/st, averaging $1,050/st
The lower end of our range is down $10/st w/w, while the top end is unchanged. Our overall average is down $5/st w/w.
Plate lead times range from 5–7 weeks, averaging 6.4 weeks through our latest survey.
