The galvanized sheet market continued to tighten in March as distributors and service centers reported firm demand, low inventory levels, and rising transportation costs. Participants on the monthly HARDI sheet metal and air-handling call on Wednesday described a market defined by constrained supply and steady upward pricing pressure.
Sheet prices continue to inch higher. And people who once thought hot-rolled coil (HR) prices couldn’t go above $1,000 are now saying $1,100 doesn’t seem out of the question.
The pace of sheet and plate price increases slowed this week, with most products holding at some of the highest levels seen in over a year.
Mexico’s Ministry of Economy issued a preliminary ruling in its anti-dumping case on hot-rolled steel from China and Vietnam. The government found evidence of price discrimination and imposed provisional duties on a wide range of hot-rolled flat products, including coils, sheet, strip, and plate.
As spot prices for hot- and cold-rolled coils edge higher, mill capacity utilization rates hover below 80%, raising concern among some market participants.
Steel mill lead times extended to multi-year highs on both sheet and plate products this week.
Most steel buyers report that domestic mills are unwilling to negotiate price on new sheet and plate spot orders.
US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply declined for a second consecutive month in February, with shipping days of supply slipping to 52.2 on an adjusted basis, according to SMU data.
Prices for both sheet and plate products climbed higher this week, with some rising to multi-year highs, according to SMU's latest market canvass.
Nucor raised its consumer spot price for hot-rolled coil to $1,015 per short ton, up $5/st from last week.
Steel imports remained close to multi-year lows in January and February, according to US Commerce Department data released this week.
This week sources said spot prices on hot-rolled coils increased modestly.
SMU's sheet and plate prices were flat or higher this week in a US market that remains characterized by extended lead times and limited spot availability.
Prices are moving up and lead times moving. And most people expect them to continue to do so for a little while longer, according to our latest survey results. But there is one big wildcard: the Iran war.
Participants in the US hot- and cold-rolled sheet market cautiously called the week a win as prices inched north and demand picked up.
Following extensions in February, steel mill lead times held steady or extended further for both sheet and plate products this week, according to buyers responding to our latest market survey.
SMU's sheet and plate prices increased this week to new multi-month highs.
Nucor’s consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil increased to $1,005 per short ton (st), up $15/st from last week.
Sources in the domestic hot- and cold-rolled coil market said they are beginning to feel prices creeping up this week.
Trade for many of the sheet and plate products we follow has fallen to multi-year lows through December.
US hot-rolled coil prices are set to rise year on year in 2026, but the market will face heightened volatility as import flows recover and new domestic capacity comes online, CRU Research Principal Josh Spoores said at this year's Tampa Steel Conference.
With domestic steel prices rising steadily and mill lead times pushing out, import offers are becoming more attractive to US buyers.
Even folks who had been firmly in what I’ll call the “February peak” camp now seem to agree that sheet and plate prices could move higher for longer than they anticipated.
Sheet prices continue to grind higher on tight supply and 'okay' demand. Plate finally saw some movement after weeks of stability as price increases begin to stick.
Steel imports slowed further in December and January to some of the lowest volumes recorded in recent years.
Participants in the domestic sheet market say they experienced lighter inquiries and fewer orders than in previous weeks, rendering domestic mill price increases for spot-market hot- and cold-rolled coils irrelevant.
Hot rolled and galvanized lead times are about half a week longer than they were three months ago, while production times for cold rolled, Galvalume, and plate products are one to two weeks longer.
Three of SMU’s price indices increased this week, while two remained steady, all holding at multi-month highs.
US service centers’ flat-rolled steel supply declined in January, after trending higher in December. Shipping days of supply slipped to 58.5 on an adjusted basis at the end of January, according to SMU data.
CRU: US Midwest sheet prices have continued to rise from our mid-January assessment.