Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Taking a Breather

April 7, 2015

Prices eased off the hectic pace we have been watching and reporting on over the past few months. Benchmark hot rolled pricing remained the same as what we reported this past week at $460 per ton average. We are watching the lower end of the range carefully to see if the domestic mills will attempt to take numbers down another notch in the coming weeks. We are also watching foreign hot rolled numbers as they could trigger the next move lower.

Our cold rolled and Galvalume averages also remained the same although we saw a tightening of the range between the low and high ends on cold rolled.

We picked up a slight adjustment to the galvanized high end which declined by $10 per ton compared to one week ago.

We obviously were a bit premature to move to Neutral from Lower Price Momentum but we are still of the opinion that the market should begin to adjust to the limitations being made to supply as well as distributor inventory adjustments over the next few weeks. Foreign steel pricing continues to threaten market stability and finding a “bottom.” Even so, we believe prices will find a bottom over the next 30 days although we do not think prices will rebound to any great degree until we get into the second half of 2015.

Here is how we see spot flat rolled prices this week (all prices shown are in net tons which are equal to 2,000 pounds):

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $440-$480 per net ton ($22.00/cwt- $24.00/cwt) with an average of $460 per ton ($23.00/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 is for hot rolled steel to bottom over the next 30 days and for prices to remain steady going into the last half of the 2nd Quarter.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 1-4 weeks.

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $560-$600 per net ton ($28.00/cwt- $30.00/cwt) with an average of $580 per ton ($29.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Our price range tightened over the previous week; the lower end increased $20 per ton and the upper end declined $20 per ton. Our average is the same as it was last week. Cold rolled steel prices may correct further in the coming weeks before stabilizing as we head into late 2nd Quarter.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 2-6 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $27.00/cwt-$30.00/cwt ($540-$600 per net ton) with an average of $28.50/cwt ($570 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to last week while the upper end decreased $10 per ton. Our average is now $5 per ton lower compared to one week ago. SMU anticipates galvanized prices should bottom soon and then trend sideways into the later part of 2nd Quarter.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $609-$669 per net ton with an average of $639 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 3-6 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $28.50/cwt-$30.50/cwt ($570-$610 per net ton) with an average of $29.50/cwt ($590 per ton) 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. Our expectation is for Galvalume prices to also bottom soon and then trend sideways for a period of time.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $861-$901 per net ton with an average of $881 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 4-6 weeks.

SMU Note: Below is an interactive graphic showing our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, and Galvalume price history. You can only view this interactive graphic when you are logged into the website and reading the newsletter there. If you need help navigating the website or need to know your login information, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or by calling 800-432-3475.

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