
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet prices tick lower, but floor remains high vs. '24
Sheet prices slipped again this week amid discounting from certain mills and ongoing concerns about demand.
Sheet prices slipped again this week amid discounting from certain mills and ongoing concerns about demand.
Attorneys representing domestic petitioners and foreign respondent companies have been busy filing case briefings and making rebuttals as the corrosion-resistant steel unfair trade investigations begin to wind down.
Steel mill lead times on sheet products contracted across the board this week compared to early July, while plate production times moderately extended, according to steel buyers responding to this week’s market survey.
More than nine out of every ten steel buyers polled by SMU this week reported that mills are negotiable on new order prices. Negotiation rates have increased in each of our last three surveys following the early-June lull, reaching a record high this week.
Steel prices continued to decline this week across all of the sheet and plate products tracked by SMU, pressured by short lead times and the typical summer slowdown.
Galvanized steel prices ping-ponged in the $50/hundredweight range during the month of July, settling in at roughly the same position as in June.
The Canada Border Services Agency has terminated a self-initiated dumping investigation of corrosion-resistant steel sheet (CORE) from Turkey.
US sheet and plate prices were flat or lower as reduced import volumes were offset by so-so demand.
AZZ Inc. posted record earnings for the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year on the back of strong infrastructure-related demand and improved operating performance.
Mill lead times for sheet products were steady to slightly longer this week compared to our late June market check, while plate lead times contracted, according to steel buyers responding to this week’s market survey.
Domestic mills are more open to talk price on new orders than they were in June, according to most steel buyers responding to our market survey this week. Negotiation rates have recovered from the early-June lull and are now just a few percentage points shy of the high levels seen late last year.
Independent galvanizer and coil coater AZZ Inc. has agreed to acquire Canton Galvanizing LLC.
Sheet and plate prices slipped this week on so-so demand, sideways scrap prices, and chatter that certain mills were making unsolicited calls looking for tons.
Following the uptick seen two weeks ago, lead times eased this week for all four sheet products tracked by SMU, while plate lead times held steady, according to this week’s market survey.
The majority of steel buyers responding to our latest market survey say domestic mills are more willing to talk price on sheet and plate products than they were earlier this month. Sheet negotiation rates rebounded across the board compared to early June, while our plate negotiation rate hit a full 100%.
As of June 24, the premium galvanized coil carries over hot-rolled coil is just $5 per short ton (st) above the lowest level recorded in almost two years.
Prices for steel sheet slipped this week despite Section 232 tariffs remaining at 50% and a US strike on nuclear facilities in Iran over the weekend.
Steel prices inched higher again this week across most of the sheet and plate products tracked by SMU.
All five of the averages for sheet and plate mill lead times tracked by SMU extended moderately this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
Steel prices climbed for a second straight week across all five sheet and plate products tracked by SMU.
Following eight consecutive weeks of declines, sheet and plate prices saw some upward movement this week in the wake of last Friday’s Section 232 tariff increase announcement. Gains varied by product.
The price premium of galvanized coil over hot-rolled (HR) coil has narrowed over the past two months, resuming the downward trend seen for most of the last year. As of May 27, the spread between these two products is at one of its lowest levels in nearly two years.
Mill lead times shrunk this week for all of the sheet products tracked by SMU and held steady on plate, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
Coated sheet imports from Vietnam face steeper anti-dumping duties after Commerce recalculated the rates due to ministerial errors.
Sure, demand isn’t as good the market had hoped it would be earlier this year. But assuming it doesn’t fall of a cliff, buyers will have to restock at some point. And that might give domestic mills enough leverage to raise prices again.
Most sheet and plate prices edged lower again this week, albeit at a slower pace compared to the movements seen over the last seven weeks. Buyers remain cautious and hesitant to hold onto much inventory, citing lingering demand concerns, ongoing tariff uncertainty, and a potentially weakening scrap market in June.
Steel buyers said Nucor’s price decrease was a public acknowledgement of what most of the market had already known - that sheet prices were moving lower in a more significant way. The question now is whether mills and service centers will manage the decline or whether prices might fall rapidly, they said.
Sheet and plate lead times held steady this week, according to buyers responding to the latest SMU market survey. This week we saw little change from mid-April levels, with just one product (Galvalume) showing any significant movement.
Nearly two thirds of the steel buyers who responded to this week’s SMU survey say domestic mills are negotiable on spot prices. This increasing flexibility marks a significant shift from the firmer stance mills held in recent months.
Most sheet and plate steel prices declined yet again this week, with four of SMU’s five indices moving lower.