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April 28, 2026
Written by Brett Linton
All five of SMU’s sheet and plate price indices increased yet again this week. Sheet products ticked up $10 per short ton (st) from last week, while plate jumped $25/st week over week (w/w), all rising to new multi-year highs.
Hot-rolled coil is now up to $1,070 per st, the highest it has been since May 2023.
Apparent steel supply rose 3% from May to June to the highest rate recorded in over four years, according to recent Department of Commerce and American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures. June’s supply increased to 9.31 million short tons, driven primarily by higher domestic shipments, and partly offset by lower finished imports and increased exports.
Nucor announced on Monday, Aug. 10, revised galvanized and galvannealed coating extras higher by an average of 11%.
In recent conversations, some participants predict mill maintenance outages and scheduled updates will crimp an already constricted market.
Editor’s note This is an opinion column. The views in this article are those of an experienced trade attorney on issues of relevance to the steel market. They do not necessarily reflect those of SMU. We welcome you to share your thoughts as well at smu@crugroup.com. My colleague and friend Alan Price wrote last week about […]
AMU’s July survey found recyclers expecting lower prices as demand softened, while forward scrap supply views remained mixed.