Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Goldilocks Market

Written by Brett Linton

August 5, 2014

Steel Market Update is conducting one of our flat rolled steel market surveys this week. Part of our survey deals with hot rolled pricing, cold rolled pricing, galvanized and Galvalume pricing and what is available in the spot market this week. We are market conditions as being firm but not too firm. Steel executives, buyers and mill salespeople are reporting negotiations as existing when there are firm tons to place. One steel executive put it to SMU this way earlier today, “The mills are being very careful to keep prices up. If you go to them and tell them you need this and that they will work with you.”

At the moment, supply and demand appear to be reasonably balanced with some minor exceptions. The continuation of supply disruptions has helped those mills who would otherwise be more actively seeking orders in the spot markets. However, it appears we are nearing an end to the disruptions if AK Steel can get the Ashland blast furnace back up and running properly in the not too distant future. The big furnace at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor (#7) is ramping back up and over time the 10,000+ tons per day could make a difference.

Here is how we are seeing flat rolled steel 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 remained the same compared to last week. Our average is unchanged compared to one week ago. SMU price momentum for hot rolled steel is for prices to remain neutral over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-5 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $760-$810 per ton ($38.00/cwt- $40.50/cwt) with an average of $785 per ton ($39.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range decreased by $10 per ton compared to last week as did the upper end of our range. Our average is now $10 per ton lower than it was last week. SMU price momentum on cold rolled steel is for prices to remain neutral over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $760-$800 per ton ($38.00/cwt- $40.00/cwt) with an average of $780 per ton ($39.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to last week while the upper end decreased by $10 per ton. Our average is now $5 per ton lower compared to one week ago. SMU anticipates galvanized base prices will remain neutral over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $820-$860 per ton with an average of $840 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 4-9 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $770-$820 per ton ($38.50/cwt- $41.00/cwt) with an average of $795 per ton ($39.75/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 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 $1061-$1111 per ton with an average of $1086 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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