Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Steel Mills Holding On...

Written by Brett Linton

May 20, 2014

Even though there might be an air of expectation that flat rolled steel prices are going to drop, Steel Market Update continues to see a stingy domestic steel industry. Stingy in that they are not quick to give back the gains made over the past eight weeks. SMU noticed that Platts actually moved their hot rolled prices slightly lower this week. We also picked up a slight weakening on hot rolled but not enough to call out the white flags. Just enough to keep our SMU Price Momentum Indicator at Neutral.

Flat rolled steel buyers were telling us that the mills were “showing a little more flexibility” in their negotiations. However, when pressed, most were not able to confirm receiving lower prices this week than they had one week ago. The mood change, as one executive put it to SMU this afternoon, was “Two weeks ago it was take it or leave it” and now there is a realization that lead times are not quite as far out and there is a flood of foreign at the docks…”

Here is how we are seeing prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $660-$690 per ton ($33.00/cwt- $34.50/cwt) with an average of $675 per ton ($33.75/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range decreased by $10 per ton compared to last week. Our average is now $10 per ton lower compared to last week. Our expectation is for hot rolled pricing to remain neutral over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 3-6 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $790-$810 per ton ($39.50/cwt- $40.50/cwt) with an average of $800 per ton ($40.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range decreased by $10 per ton compared to last week. Our average is now $10 per ton lower compared to one week ago. SMU anticipates cold rolled prices will remain neutral over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 6-8 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price 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. 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 remain neutral over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $860-$880 per ton with an average of $870 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $780-$820 per ton ($39.00/cwt- $41.00/cwt) with an average of $800 per ton ($40.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range decreased by $10 per ton compared to last week while the upper end remained the same. Our average is now $5 per ton lower compared to one week ago. Our expectation is for Galvalume prices to remain neutral over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1071-$1111 per ton with an average of $1091 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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