Category: Sheet

Cold-rolled (CR) coil prices were unchanged in the US this week, while offshore prices varied, though mostly trended up.

On July 1, CRU launched a US Galvalume coil benchmark price to serve this growing market.

Read the latest CRU Outlook on global sheet prices and the market for the coming months.

If a trend of flat lead times holds, it would represent a change. And we’ve also seen a few of the other indicators we track slip from historic highs – so the potential shift is worth paying attention to.

Steel mill lead times for flat-rolled steel this week remained extended at historical highs. Plate production times crept out further, while hot-rolled and cold-rolled (HR/CR) coil saw minor contractions.

The majority of steel buyers we polled this week reported that mills are holding firm on new order spot prices.

AZZ President and CEO Tom Ferguson said the Texas-based coil coating and galvanizing company is off to a great start in its 2027 fiscal year.

Algoma Steel is in talks with ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) following the Canadian government's selection of the German company as the preferred supplier of submarines.

SMU’s average price for domestic HR was unchanged vs. last week. In offshore markets last week, while prices diverged, the dynamic between stateside and imported product varied little.

Market reaction to Nucor’s move was mixed. Some sources said a flat CSP reflected concerns that further increases in US HR prices could attract more import competition. Others expressed frustration. Their view: CSP has kept a lid on prices, something that shouldn’t happen when many buyers remain more concerned about availability than price.

The investigation follows requests from US producers Nucor and Steel Dynamics.

Nucor said on Monday, July 6, that its hot-rolled coil consumer spot price will remain unchanged at $1,130 per short ton for the week.

Earlier this week, SMU polled steel buyers on an array of topics, ranging from market prices, demand, and inventories to tariffs, imports, and evolving market events.

Imports from Europe are at parity with domestic hot rolled, while Southeast Asian products remain at a considerable discount. The result comes because a stateside rally coincides with faltering offshore prices.

Hot-rolled coil spot market participants told SMU they see no evidence of the market softening in the near term.  

Cleveland-Cliffs plans to upgrade its ironmaking process at Middletown Works, according to a permit filing with the Ohio EPA.

Barry Zekelman, executive chairman and CEO of Zekelman Industries, will be the featured guest on our next Community Chat on Wednesday, July 15, at 11 am ET.

We’ve gotten so used to the slow, steady increases by now that $5/ton feels like the new flat. And flat, after so many consecutive weeks of gains, feels like a decrease.

Hot-rolled (HR) coil and plate prices continued to tick higher even as cold-rolled (CR) and coated prices came in unchanged, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.

Target Steel and Target Metal Blanking are expanding into Mexico.

North American steel buyers are navigating a market where demand is firming, but import activity remains cautious. Buyers reported mixed import activity in SMU’s June 26 flat-rolled steel buyers’ survey.

Total US raw steel output declined last week for the third-consecutive week but remains historically strong.

Wells Fargo's Timna Tanners thinks the steel price rally will be falling off as we get further into the second half.

Nucor held its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil at $1,130 per short ton (st) for the week of June 29. The sideways move is the first of its kind since Jan. 21.

Flack Global Metals (FGM) has consolidated Pacesetter Steel Service under the FGM brand, finalizing the group’s formal transition, the company said on Friday.

Some hot-rolled coil buyers expect continued incremental price increases from domestic mills. Others expect steeper increases, even if it risks inviting imports.

Cold-rolled coil prices moved higher in the US this week, as offshore prices trended lower. Imports are, as a result, increasingly more competitive, even with the 50% Section 232 tariff.

“Ohio Strip Steel reflects who we are today and where we’re going,” the Dover, Ohio-based company said.

Steel mill lead times remained extended this week on both sheet and plate products. Current production times three to four weeks longer than levels seen last summer.

Steel buyers negotiation rates remain at or near historic lows across most sheet and plate products.