Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: HR and CR Increase, Coated Unchanged

Written by Brett Linton

May 6, 2014

Pressure continues on flat rolled steel prices as we saw gains on hot rolled and cold rolled while galvanized and Galvalume remained the same as one week ago. The issue on the coated products and cold rolled to a lesser degree, has been imported steel which is impacting the southern states in two ways. First, from direct sales into Houston, New Orleans and Savannah and second, the foreign hitting the West Coast is pushing some West Coast products into other areas of the country.

Most domestic mills continue to be confident that prices will at least maintain current levels. Our hot rolled average did rise by $10 per ton over where we saw prices one week ago as we saw gains at both ends of the range.

Here is how we are seeing prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $670-$700 per ton ($33.50/cwt- $35.00/cwt) with an average of $685 per ton ($34.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range increased by $10 per ton compared to last week. Our average is now $10 per ton higher compared to last week. Our expectation is for hot rolled pricing to move higher over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 3-6 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $800-$820 per ton ($40.00/cwt- $41.00/cwt) with an average of $810 per ton ($40.50/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 increased by $5 per ton. Our average is now $7.50 per ton higher compared to last week. SMU anticipates cold rolled prices will move higher over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 6-8 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $790-$815 per ton ($39.50/cwt- $40.75/cwt) with an average of $802.50 per ton ($40.125/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained the same compared to last week. Our average is unchanged compared to last week. SMU anticipates galvanized base prices will trend higher over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $850-$875 per ton with an average of $863 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $790-$820 per ton ($39.50/cwt- $41.00/cwt) with an average of $805 per ton ($40.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained the same compared to last week. Our average is unchanged compared to last week. Our expectation is for Galvalume prices to move higher over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1081-$1111 per ton with an average of $1096 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

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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.

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