Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Essentially Unchanged for Another Week

Written by John Packard

July 26, 2016

Flat rolled steel prices remained essentially unchanged for yet another week. We did pick up a break in the $600 barrier on hot rolled steel. However, we were only able to tie that price level to one Canadian mill into the Chicago market. The other mills appear to be holding much closer to $610-$620 per ton with some higher price offers reaching the $640 per ton mark. We moved both the high and low end of the range for HRC with the net result being no change.

When it comes to cold rolled we found one small mill below $40.00/cwt but most mills are above that level. When it came to coated steels we did not find any mill breaking through the $40.00/cwt base level and, in fact we spoke with a couple of mills who reported after a surge in orders at the lower level there was not need to go down to $40.00/cwt and most mills were reported to have their galvanized base prices at $40.50/cwt-$41.50/cwt.

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $590-$640 per ton ($29.50/cwt- $32.00/cwt) with an average of $615 per ton ($30.75/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined $10 per ton compared to one week ago while the upper end increased $10 per ton. Our overall average is unchanged over last week. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is for prices to remain range-bound (+/- $20 per ton) over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-5 weeks

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU Range is $790-$840 per ton ($39.50/cwt- $42.00/cwt) with an average of $815 per ton ($40.75/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range decreased $10 per ton compared to last week while the upper end remained the same. Our overall average is down $5 per ton over one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is for prices to remain range-bound (+/- $20 per ton) over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 4-8 weeks

Galvanized Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $40.00/cwt-$42.00/cwt ($800-$840 per ton) with an average of $41.00/cwt ($820 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to one week ago while the upper end declined $10 per ton. Our overall average is down $5 per ton over last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is for prices to be range bound (+/- $20 per ton) over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU Range is $860-$900 per net ton with an average of $880 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 5-9 weeks

Galvalume Coil: SMU Base Price Range is $40.00/cwt-$43.00/cwt ($800-$860 per ton) with an average of $41.50/cwt ($830 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 overall average is unchanged over one week ago. Our price momentum on Galvalume steel is for prices to be range-bound (+/- $20 per ton) over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU Range is $1091-$1151 per net ton with an average of $1121 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 6-8 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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