Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Creeping Higher

Written by Brett Linton

October 22, 2013

The domestic steel mills continued to put pressure on spot market pricing which resulted in another small increase in our flat rolled price assessments for this week. We continue to hear from buyers that prices are only somewhat negotiable ($10-$30 per ton off of the price announcement levels). This is somewhat of a change from what we had seen at the beginning of last week and we need to wait to see if it is the beginning of a new trend toward lower prices or just a blip on the radar screen.

Here is how we are seeing flat rolled prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $640-$680 per ton ($32.00/cwt- $34.00/cwt) with an average of $660 per ton ($33.00/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 hot rolled is for prices to remain relatively stable over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 3-6 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $740-$780 per ton ($37.00/cwt- $39.00/cwt) with an average of $760 per ton ($38.00/cwt) fob mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased by $10 per ton compared to last week while the upper end remained the same. Our average is now $5 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for cold rolled is for prices to remain relatively stable over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-8 weeks.

Galvanized 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 increased by $10 per ton compared to last week while the upper end remained the same. Our average is now $5 per ton higher compared to last week. The trend for galvanized is for prices to remain relatively stable over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $800-$850 per ton with an average of $825 per ton.

Galvanized Lead Times: 4-8 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. Both the lower and upper end of our range were unchanged compared to last week. Our average is the same as it was last week. The trend for Galvalume is for prices to remain relatively stable over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1031-$1081 per ton with an average of $1056 per ton.

Galvalume Lead Times: 5-8 weeks.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

Read more from Brett Linton

Latest in Steel Products Prices North America