Steel Products
SMU Comparison Price Indices: Have We Reached the Peak?
Written by John Packard
August 12, 2013
By John Packard
Have flat rolled steel prices reached their peak? We captured mixed results in this week’s analysis of the indices followed by Steel Market Update. Platts Midwest hot rolled and cold rolled coils both shot up $12.50 per ton compared to where we had them one week ago. Steel Orbis numbers did not move. SteelBenchmarker did not provide new pricing and CRU, like SMU showed both slightly higher as well as slightly lower pricing on individual indices. All of the indices except Platts had hot rolled at $645 or $647 per ton.
FOB Points for each index:
SMU: Domestic Mill, East of the Rockies.
CRU: Midwest Mill, East of the Rockies.
SteelBenchmarker: Domestic Mill, East of the Mississippi.
SteelOrbis: Midwest Domestic Mill.
Platts: Northern Indiana Domestic Mill.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products

US HR prices surge above offshore tags
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices leaped in the US this week, while tags abroad saw more measured gains. The result: US hot band prices have become even more expensive than imports on a landed basis. In fact, the premium US HR prices carry over HR prices abroad now stands at a 12-month high.

US rig counts inch up again, Canadian activity slips
The latest oil and gas rig count in the US increased slightly from last week, while Canadian activity edged lower, according to Baker Hughes.

SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

CRU: Rising protectionism impacts global steel trade
US sheet prices surge following tariff announcement

SMU Community Chat replay now available
The latest SMU Community Chat webinar reply is now available on our website to all members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the community tab and look under the “previous webinars” section of the dropdown menu. All past Community Chat webinars are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the webinar replay, or if your company […]