Steel Products

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Little Movement

August 14, 2013

Written by: John Packard

Essentially our review of the market has found little measurable movement in spot flat rolled prices this week. The opinion of many buyers is the market is closer to the top and any purchases need to be carefully considered prior to making any commitments. Buyers continue to express confidence in their own markets as being “steady” or “decent” as opposed to being in

decline. As mentioned in the article above, our SMU Price Momentum Indicator remains at Higher as we wait to see if supply continues to remain in balance with demand or, if something tips the scales and in the process moves prices even higher or lower from here.

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $635-$665 per ton ($31.75/cwt- $33.25/cwt) with an average of $650 per ton ($32.5/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased by $15 per ton compared to last week while the upper end decreased by $5 per ton. Our average is now $5 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for hot rolled is for prices to go sideways to slightly higher over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 3-6 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $735-$770 per ton ($36.75/cwt- $38.50/cwt) with an average of $752.5 per ton ($37.625/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased by $5 per ton compared to last week while the upper end remained the same. Our average is now $2.5 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for cold rolled is for prices to go sideways to slightly higher over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $730-$770 per ton ($36.50/cwt- $38.50/cwt) with an average of $750 per ton ($37.50/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper end of our range remained the same compared to last week. Our average is unchanged compared to last week. The trend for galvanized is for prices to remain firm and potentially move higher over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $790-$830 per ton with an average of $810 per ton.

Galvanized Lead Times: 4-9 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $740-$790 per ton ($37.00/cwt- $39.50/cwt) with an average of $765 per ton ($38.25/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to last week while the upper end increased by $10 per ton. Our average is now $5 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for Galvalume is for prices to remain firm and potentially move higher over the next 30 days.