Steel Products Prices North America

Comparison Price Indices: Last Drop?
Written by John Packard
October 23, 2016
Flat rolled steel prices have broken through some key barriers over the past couple of weeks as benchmark hot rolled crashed through $500 per ton and cold rolled has now broken through $700 per ton. It was not just the Steel Market Update steel index average moving lower, we saw Platts take their steel index averages down as well.
Hot rolled averages dropped $20 per ton ($1.00/cwt) on SMU’s index while by the end of the week Platts average was $25 per ton lower. Both indexes reported HRC to be averaging $470 per ton ($23.50/cwt). SteelBenchmarker, which we also cover, did not report prices this week as they only publish their indices twice per month.
Cold rolled prices broke through the $700 per ton level this week as both SMU (-$15) and Platts (-$15) recorded the average to be $695 per ton ($34.75/cwt).
Galvanized prices were unchanged on the SMU index at $760 for .060” G90. After removing the coating extra galvanized spot base prices averaged $35.00/cwt last week.
Galvalume dropped $10 per ton for the week to $1001 per ton ($50.05/cwt) for .0142” AZ50, Grade 80.
Platts saw plate prices as breaking through the $500 per ton level as their index averaged $480 per ton (-$20).
We will wait to see if further drops in indexed pricing are recorded with at least three domestic mills announcing price increases on Friday and more are sure to follow early this week.
FOB Points for each index:
SMU: Domestic Mill, East of the Rockies.
SteelBenchmarker: Domestic Mill, East of the Mississippi.
Platts: Northern Indiana Domestic Mill all items except plate which is FOB Southeastern Mill.

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

Nucor slows HRC price climb with $5/ton increase
After eight weeks of double-digit price increases on hot-rolled (HR) coil, Nucor slowed the price rise this week with an increase of $5 per short ton.

Domestic CRC prices surge ahead of imports
The price spread between stateside-produced CR and imports reached its widest margin in over a year.

Evraz raises plate prices $160/ton
Evraz North America (NA) has followed Nucor and SSAB with a plate price increase of its own: up $160 per short ton (st). The increase was effective immediately for all new orders of carbon, high-strength low-alloy, and normalized and quenched-and-tempered plate products, as well as for hot-rolled coil, the steelmaker said in a letter to […]

Nucor lifts HR coil to $820/ton
Nucor has increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil for a fourth consecutive week.

Nucor pushes HR spot price to $790/ton
Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $790 per short ton (st) on Monday, Feb. 10 – a $15/st bump vs. last week. The Charlotte, N.C.-based company has raised its weekly CSP by $40/st over the past three weeks after maintaining tags at $750/st since Nov. 12, according to SMU’s […]