Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: HR Breaks Through $600...

January 6, 2015

Steel Market Update did not rush to break through the $600 barrier for hot rolled coil. We made a conscious decision that due to the Holidays we wanted to wait until this week to make sure we had as many data points as possible before breaking through $600. We are aware that some of our competitors broke through last week or on Monday of this week. Either way the bottom line is the same, there continues to be weakness in flat rolled steel prices and benchmark hot rolled coil sank to $590 per ton ($29.50/cwt) average with a range of $570 to $610 per ton in the full marketplace.

We continue to be worried that there is more weakness to come as many buyers are telling us that they are not buying at this moment due to high inventories. If buyers are holding back and only buying hand to mouth this will impact mill lead times and the ability of the mills to fill their books properly. Steel Market Update is conducting an analysis of the flat rolled steel market this week and we will have many more details regarding lead times, negotiations, etc. in Thursday evening’s edition of our newsletter.

Here is how we see flat rolled prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $570-$610 per ton ($28.50/cwt- $30.50/cwt) with an average of $590 per ton ($29.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined 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 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: 2-4 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $680-$740 per ton ($34.00/cwt- $37.00/cwt) with an average of $710 per ton ($35.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is $10 per ton lower compared to one week ago, while the upper end remained the same. Our average is now $5 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: 3-7 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $34.00/cwt-$37.50/cwt ($680-$750 per ton) with an average of $35.75/cwt ($715 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range decreased by is $10 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end remained unchanged. Our average is now $5 per ton lower than one week ago. SMU anticipates galvanized prices will drift and trend lower over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $749-$819 per ton with an average of $784 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 3-7 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $34.50/cwt-$37.50/cwt ($690-$750 per ton) with an average of $36.00/cwt ($720 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the upper and lower ends of our range are unchanged compared to one week ago. Our average is the same as 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 $981-$1041 per ton with an average of $1011 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 3-7 weeks.

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