Category: Prices

US scrap prices were mostly flat in May, with some upside on prime scrap, sources told SMU.

Plate market participants wonder how plate supply will hold up in coming weeks and months, sources told SMU.   Some sources called out dwindling availability of heavier grades and said certain domestic producers have “a huge backlog.” of all grades.

All five of SMU’s sheet and plate price indices ticked higher this week, rising further to new multi-year highs. Prices increased between $5-25 per short ton (st) from last week and are $30-65/st higher than they were one month ago.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) has revised their metallic coating extras higher for galvanized, Galvalume, Galfan, and aluminized type 1 products.

The May scrap market took much longer to settle than most players anticipated, but the results are mostly in.

In a May 11 price notice, SSAB upped its transaction prices for new, non-contract plate orders confirmed to ship from June 28 onward.

On Monday, Nucor hiked its spot HR price by $10/ton.

The May scrap market in the US seems to be just finishing up its settle as of the writing of this article. Luckily, we have our latest ferrous scrap market survey to give us an insight before we release our prices article next week.

Sheet market participants found modest spot price increases this past week, but conceded that overall market conditions remained stable.  

Plate market participants expect additional base price hikes from domestic mills, something that has some eyeing imports.

The current rally in sheet prices has lasted more than seven months, something without recent precedent. Unless your definition of recent includes the snapback in demand following the pandemic.

The export market on the North American East Coast has been firming after seeing a sale that climbed to $415.50 per metric ton (mt) CFR for HMS 85/15.

Sheet and plate prices remained on an upward trend as industry sources increasingly asked whether improved demand might be driving the market as much as limited supply.

The prevailing sentiment for May is that #1 busheling and bundles are likely to increase. This may cause pig iron to continue its upward trajectory.

Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,070 per short ton (st), a $5/st increase from last week.

I haven’t done a deep dive into our sentiment data for a little while. And it’s timely to do so now. Why? Because we’re seeing what I’ll call the inverted yield curve of steel buyers’ sentiment.

Oregon Steel Mills (OSM) is attempting to push spot plate prices up by a minimum of $60 per short ton (st).

Domestic sheet market participants found business conditions remarkably consistent this week. 

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product tightened this week. The dynamic continues even as stateside and import prices diverged a bit vs. the prior week.

CRU: 62% Fe iron ore prices remained rangebound in April following the surge in the first half of March.

This week we saw low negotiation rates across all products, though coated products are the most negotiable and plate products are the least.

Market sources say 2026 could be a stronger year for plate market participants than 2025 if this week’s conditions are indicative of how the rest of the year plays out.  

Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,065 per short ton (st), a $10/st increase from last week.

Sheet market participants reported steady to elevated demand over the past week. But while spot prices continued to edge up, some sources said lead times were becoming more closely aligned to industry norms.

The price gap between US hot-rolled coil (HR) and landed offshore product tightened this week. The dynamic continues as both stateside and offshore prices have largely trended higher.

As the steel market works through the first month of Q2 and the spring outage season, the US HRC futures curve continues to reflect a market adjusting to tightening conditions. The recalibration of near-term expectations sets the stage for how the curve has developed in recent weeks.

In a Final Thoughts las week, I asked “Got Steel?” And if you’re looking for spot tons in June, the answer still isn’t obvious.

Each of SMU’s sheet and plate price indices climbed higher this week, with most products rising further to new multi-year highs

Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $1,055 per short ton (st), a $10/st bump from last week.

Factors like fluctuating demand, import availability, domestic product lead times, fuel surcharges, and end-user consumption left plate sources feeling unsettled.