Steel Products Prices North America

Comparison Price Indices: Where are Prices Headed?

Written by John Packard

April 9, 2017

Flat rolled steel prices dropped significantly on the SMU Index while Platts had prices much more stable with hot rolled moving lower on Friday by $5 per ton and cold rolled, which had dropped earlier in the week, bouncing back to the same levels reported the week before last. We seem to be in a market looking for direction and not having any clear cut signs to force prices in one direction or another.

Steel Market Update had benchmark hot rolled averaging $640 per ton ($32.00/cwt) while Platts came in at $15 per ton higher at $655 per ton.

Cold rolled was down $15 per ton on the SMU index to $835 per ton while Platts saw cold rolled as averaging $860 per ton.

SMU galvanized was also down $15 per ton to $918 per ton ($45.90/cwt) for .060″ G90.

Galvalume moved $15 per ton lower as well with .0142″ AZ50, Grade 80 being referenced as averaging $1136 per ton.

Plate prices averaged $775 per ton delivered to customers while Platts plate pricing remained stable at $735 per ton FOB Mill, Southeast USA.

SMU Note: Galvanized prices include $78 in extras for a .060″ G90 product. Galvalume prices include $291 in extras for a .0142” AZ50 Grade 80 product.

FOB points for each index:

SMU: Domestic Mill, East of the Rockies.
SteelBenchmarker: Domestic Mill, East of the Mississippi.
Platts: Northern Indiana Domestic Mill.

Note that SteelBenchmarker produces numbers twice per month. On the weeks they produce numbers we will include them in the average. The weeks where they do not produce numbers (NA = not available) we will not include their outdated numbers in the CPI average.

John Packard

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