Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: HR Drops to $560

January 21, 2015

Benchmark hot rolled coil prices dropped again this week as buyers struggled with an oversupplied HRC market due to high service center inventories, a continuation of high foreign imports and the collapse of the OCTG and line pipe markets due to weak oil prices. Couple those three items with more domestic supply than necessary for the current market conditions and the result is weakening hot rolled pricing.

We have also seen a weakening in the cold rolled markets while galvanized and Galvalume have held steady compared to the price levels we were collecting from buyers one week ago.

Here is how we see flat rolled prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $530-$590 per ton ($26.50/cwt- $29.50/cwt) with an average of $560 per ton ($28.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined by $20 per ton compared to one week ago while the upper end remained the same. Our average is now $10 per ton lower than last week. 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 $640-$710 per ton ($32.00/cwt- $35.50/cwt) with an average of $675 per ton ($33.75/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined by $20 per ton compared to last week while the upper end declined by $10 per ton. Our average is now $15 per ton lower than one week ago. SMU price momentum on cold rolled steel is for prices to drift and trend lower over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 4-8 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $33.50/cwt-$36.50/cwt ($670-$730 per ton) with an average of $35.00/cwt ($700 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range were unchanged compared to one week ago, leaving our average the same. SMU anticipates galvanized prices will drift and trend lower over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $739-$799 per ton with an average of $769 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 4-8 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $34.50/cwt-$36.50/cwt ($690-$730 per ton) with an average of $35.50/cwt ($710 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range were unchanged compared to last week. Our average remains the same. 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-$1021 per ton with an average of $1001 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 5-7 weeks.

SMU Note: You can view the interactive graphic below when you are logged into the website and reading the newsletter online. If you have not logged into the website in the past and your username and password, contact us at: info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by calling 800-432-3475. If you need help navigating the website we would also be happy to assist you.

{amchart id=”110″ Weekly Pricing Article Graph- Use for NEWSLETTER Prices}