Steel Products Prices North America
Nucor First to Reduce Galvanized Coating Extras
Written by John Packard
September 29, 2015
After zinc spot pricing peaked in May of this year at $1.10 per pound, it has been steadily moving lower, closing at $0.7363 per pound at the end of trading on Monday, September 28th. Steel Market Update has been writing about the drop in spot LME zinc (as well as aluminum which impacts Galvalume, Aluminized and Galfan pricing) advising that it was only a matter of time before the domestic mills would adjust their extras. We anticipate other mills may follow the Nucor lead although the end result may be slightly different extras.
Nucor, recognizing the changes in the value of zinc (and thus their reduced costs to coat galvanized steel), sent out a letter to their customers on Monday advising that they were adjusting their coating extras effective with orders acknowledged to ship the week ending November 7, 2015 (the first week of November).
Steel Market Update did a quick analysis of the differences in the coating costs on G90 product based on the old and new Nucor coating extras. As you can see from the table below the new extras run $0.25/cwt on .101” to .130” at the heavy end of the scale to $2.50/cwt on .012” to .0149”.
We have both the old and new Nucor extras posted on our website and they can be access by clicking on this link.
It will be interesting to see what the other mills do in reaction to the Nucor announcement. Many mills follow the U.S. Steel lead when it comes to coating extras so they are (at this moment) the mill to watch.
The next question will be regarding Galvalume as not only has zinc tanked, aluminum has as well…
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
Nucor lifts HR spot price by $10/ton
Nucor has raised its weekly spot list price on hot-rolled coil by $10 per short ton (st) after keeping it unchanged since Aug. 25.
Atlas Tube up $50/ton following NLMK USA sheet price hike
Atlas Tube, in a leading move, said it aims to increase prices for mechanical tubing, hollow structural sections (HSS), and piling products by at least $50 per short ton (st).
NLMK USA up $50/ton on HR and CR, up $100/ton on coated
NLMK USA plans to increase prices for hot-rolled and cold-rolled coil by at least $50 per short ton (st). The move is effective immediately for all spot orders, the steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Friday.
SMU Price Ranges: Sheet floor holds as market debates upside
Our average HR coil price increased $5/short ton from last week, marking a second consecutive week of modest gains. Market participants generally attributed the increase to...
Thin demand keeps plate prices hovering at lowest levels since February
Participants in the domestic plate market say spot prices appear to have hit the floor, and they continue to linger there. They say demand for steel remains thin, with plate products no exception.