Product
July 24, 2026
HR sources report stability, imports improve availability for some
Written by Kristen DiLandro
Sources across the hot-rolled coil spot market said it was somewhat easier to find spot HR, at moderately shorter lead times, and at stable prices in recent days.
One mill source noted demand had even slowed a bit compared to earlier weeks. However, the same participants flagged the cool down as an anomaly.
Some sources told SMU that imported products ordered months ago have entered the market. They expect the imports to sell quickly. At which time, they predict conditions will return to a baseline characterized by limited spot availability, strong competition for spot HR, longer lead times, and bullish prices.
Market Commentary
A Midwest-based mill source recently found spot demand dipped.
“Last week was a pretty quiet week on the spot sales front. We are pretty well booked for the month of September, and have not really opened our October order book as of yet,” he said.
“We will take a pause once the last September tons get booked before we open up October spot at this point. There’s no real impetus, from a lead time perspective, to sell October spot this early,” he added.
In the same region, a service center source said his company had balanced inventory with imported HR.
“There are service centers dumping. Tonnage came in that was ordered in the first quarter, so there are hundreds of lower cost transactions. But this will not last long. All of the excess tonnage was huge for us,” he said.
“With demand as steady as it is, the future will continue to grow stronger,” he said.
A second service center source did not purchase imports. He found stable demand and slightly shorter lead times.
“Lead-times are starting to relax a little, and the mills I deal with are slowly catching up. The market is still tight, especially for spot. A lot of service centers like us are out of a variety of items,” he said.
“We are all awaiting mill shipments or selling more than we normally would be due to a tight spot supply,” he added.
Prices
SMU’s weekly price assessment stands at $1,165 per short ton (st) on average, while overall prices range from $1,130/st to 1,200/st. All prices are FOB domestic mill. We will next update prices on Tuesday afternoon.
