Steel Products Prices North America

Comparison Price Indices: Weakness Continues
Written by John Packard
October 4, 2015
According to the various flat rolled steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update, hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume and plate prices continue to be weak this past week.
Benchmark hot rolled was the most stable with all four indexes reporting last week. SMU and Platts were showing the HRC average as being $430 per ton while CRU moved up $2 to $436 and SteelBenchmarker came out at $445 (SteelBenchmarker only reports prices twice per month). The average of SMU, CRU and Platts was $432 per ton this past week.
Cold rolled dropped the most with all four indexes moving lower by double digits. Platts and SteelBenchmarker were down $15 per ton with CRU and SMUdown $10.
Galvanized also saw prices fall with SMU down $15 and CRU down $6 while Galvalume prices were down $10 per ton.
Plate prices remained close to the levels being reported by CRU and Platts for a number of weeks. Steel Benchmarker made a large move down $42 per ton.
FOB Points for each index:
SMU: Domestic Mill, East of the Rockies.
CRU: Midwest Mill, East of the Rockies.
SteelBenchmarker: Domestic Mill, East of the Mississippi.
Platts: Northern Indiana Domestic Mill.

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

Market says cutting interest rates will spur stalled domestic plate demand
Market sources say demand for domestic plate refuses to budge despite stagnating prices.

SMU Price Ranges: Some predict bottom is near as big discounts dry up
Sheet prices were mixed this week as some mills continued to offer significant discounts to larger buyers while others have shifted toward being more disciplined, market participants said.

SMU Price Ranges: Tags mixed as uncertainty weighs on market
SMU’s hot-rolled (HR) coil price held steady this week while prices for other sheet and plate products declined.

Nucor spot HR list price unchanged at $875/ton
Nucor kept its weekly list price for hot-rolled (HR) coil unchanged this week, following a price bump of $10 per short ton (st) last week.

SMU price ranges: Flat-rolled balloon continues to leak
Sheet and plate prices were flat or lower again this week on continued concerns about demand and higher production rates among US mills.