Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: HR Moves Closer to Breaking Through $600

December 16, 2014

We saw prices slipping in hot rolled and cold rolled steels over the past seven days. We are seeing offers on benchmark hot rolled below the $600 per ton level. One service center who is usually a coated only buyer told SMU that they purchased a small amount of hot rolled and they had offers at $600 and $610 per ton.

A service center commented to Steel Market Update in a phone conversation earlier this week, “There is desperation at the mills, especially on hot rolled. This has caused the market to deteriorate pretty badly over the past week.” He went on to point out a number of mills who are looking for orders – both fully integrated and mini-mills. Perhaps one of the most telling comments this executive of a Midwest-based service center told us was regarding his inventories, which have risen above 3 months for the first time since 2009.

He told us, “When mills are shipping late your days of supply go down. When steel mills are shipping early your days of supply go up. The mills are wanting to ship everything early.”

A manufacturing company associated with the construction industry told us they were having difficulties building inventory for their customers. We were told that their shipments have been very strong and it was less about price (to their end customers) and more about can they deliver their product by “X” date. Even so, this purchasing executive was very concerned about the energy markets. “I am really concerned about what is going on with the price of oil. The energy sector has been a huge steel consuming segment.”

This manufacturer reported prices in line with what we are reporting below. Although this company has been a buyer of foreign and domestic steel during 2014 they reported that the domestic numbers are now getting closer to foreign which may provide a pause or breather for the domestic mills in the coming months.

Here is how we are seeing prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $590-$630 per ton ($29.50/cwt- $31.50/cwt) with an average of $610 per ton ($30.50/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 less than one week ago. SMU price momentum for hot rolled steel is for prices to drift and trend lower over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-5 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $720-$750 per ton ($36.00/cwt- $37.50/cwt) with an average of $735 per ton ($36.75/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to last week while the upper end declined by $20 per ton. Our average is now $10 per ton lower than last week. SMU price momentum on cold rolled steel is for prices to drift and trend lower over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $35.00/cwt-$37.50/cwt ($700-$750 per ton) with an average of $36.25/cwt ($725 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained the same compared to the previous week. Our average is unchanged compared to last week. SMU anticipates galvanized prices will drift and trend lower over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $769-$819 per ton with an average of $794 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 4-9 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $36.50/cwt-$37.50/cwt ($730-$750 per ton) with an average of $37.00/cwt ($740 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased by $20 per ton compared to last week while the upper end declined by $20 per ton. Our average is the same compared to last week. Our expectation is for Galvalume prices to drift and trend lower over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1021-$1041 per ton with an average of $1031 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

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