Steel Products Prices North America

Comparison Price Indices Had Mixed Week

Written by John Packard

May 13, 2017

Hot rolled prices have been dropping over the past few weeks and that trend continued with all three steel indexes followed by Steel Market Update reporting lower hot rolled coil price averages last week.

Steel Market Update’s (SMU) own index saw HRC prices as being down $15 per ton ($0.75/cwt) to $610 per ton ($30.50/cwt). Platts took their numbers down $10 per ton to $615 per ton and SteelBenchmarker, which only produces their index twice per month, dropped $16 per ton to $623 per ton.

Cold rolled prices saw less movement, galvanized .060” G90 was seen to be $10 per ton lower by SMU while Galvalume averages remained the same as the prior week.

Plate prices were up slightly at SMU (whose average is based on delivered price average, not FOB the mill) and SteelBenchmarker. Platts, on the other hand, took their plate price average down $5 per ton to $730 per ton.

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 The weeks where they do not produce numbers (NA = not available) we will not include their outdated numbers in the CPI average.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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