Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Prices Flying

Written by John Packard

April 12, 2016

This was one of the most difficult weeks to analyze flat rolled steel prices due to a number of factors. There were some “deals” available a few days ago (but after last Tuesday when we last indexed pricing) that no longer exist. How much weight do we give those deals? There are a number of mills whose order books are closed or just opened (such as Steel Dynamics which opened their book today). How much weight do you give those who just opened?

We decided to give some weight to both which will make no one happy this week.  So, in an effort to appease everyone we will start by saying the vast majority of offers out there on hot rolled coil are $500-$510 per ton. When looking at cold rolled and coated the base price offers today are approximately $34.00/cwt-$34.50/cwt (plus extras). We have heard of offers on galvanized as high as $37.00/cwt base but we don’t think that is the norm (and not many spot customers are paying those levels).

Having said all of that 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 $480-$500 per ton ($24.00/cwt- $25.00/cwt) with an average of $490 per ton ($24.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range increased $20 per ton compared to one week ago. Our overall average is up $20 per ton over last week. SMU price momentum for hot rolled steel has prices rising over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 4-10 weeks (many mills order books are full or closed)

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $620-$660 per ton ($31.00/cwt- $33.00/cwt) with an average of $640 per ton ($32.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $10 per ton compared to last week while the upper end increased $20 per ton. Our overall average increased $15 per ton over one week ago. SMU price momentum for cold rolled steel is for prices to increase over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-12 weeks.

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $32.50/cwt-$34.50/cwt ($650-$690 per ton) with an average of $33.50/cwt ($670 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $30 per ton compared to one week ago while the upper end increased $40 per ton. Our overall average is up $35 per ton over last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is for prices to move higher over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $710-$750 per net ton with an average of $730 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 5-12 weeks.

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $33.00/cwt-$34.50/cwt ($660-$690 per ton) with an average base of $33.75/cwt ($675 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $30 per ton compared to last week while the upper end increased $20 per ton. Our overall average increased $25 per ton over one week ago. Our price momentum for Galvalume steel is currently pointing towards an increase in prices over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $951-$981 per net ton with an average of $966 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 5-9 weeks.

SMU Note: Below is a graphic showing our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, and Galvalume price history. To use the graphs interactive capabilities, you must view it on our website here. 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.

John Packard

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