Steel Products Prices North America
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/media/k2/items/src/a6da515d24e0ba298d702293db47935b.jpg)
Foreign Steel Flat Rolled Trending Lower
Written by John Packard
October 24, 2017
The trend for foreign steel imports into the United States continues to be right at 3 million net tons for the month of October.
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) updated license data collected for the month of October through today, Oct. 24. We take the license data for the first 24 days of the month. We then convert it into a daily rate and expand it for the entire 31-day month. The results are shown in the table below.
Imports of most flat rolled products continue to slip compared to their 12-month and 3-month moving averages.
Hot rolled is now trending toward a 167,000-ton month, which if correct will be the lowest level seen since February 2017 when the U.S. imported 111,731 net tons.
Cold rolled imports are also trending lower, now expected to come in around 194,000 tons. This is lower than the 12-month moving average of 222,727 tons and 3-month moving average of 250,415 tons. The last time we saw CR imports at the trending level was December 2016 with 189,960 net tons.
Galvanized is also trending much lower than its 12-month and 3-month moving averages. Our expectation is for galvanized to end the month of October around 230,000 tons. The last time GI imports were 230,000 tons or less was January 2016 at 214,593 net tons.
Other metallic, most of which is Galvalume, is trending toward the 81,000-ton level, which is below both its 12-month and 3-month moving averages. The last time AZ was less than 81,000 tons was November 2016 at 78,532 net tons.
It will be interesting to see if the bloom is off the rose and flat rolled imports continue to shrink from here. If so, it could help to eventually strengthen domestic mill order books once inventories are worked down.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/john-packard.png)
John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/Nucor.png)
Nucor inches HR price up, aims for $695/ton
Nucor increased its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $695 per short ton (st), up $5/st from last week.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/Nucor.png)
Nucor maintains $690/ton HR base price
Nucor’s weekly consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil is unchanged from last week at $690/ton.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/CRU-Logo-2023-07-21-at-4.35.41-PM.png)
CRU: US prices find a bottom as other markets fall
The US sheet market appears to have reached a bottom following consistent weekly declines since April. However, other markets remain weak due to limited demand. Trading in Europe has been slow due to summer holidays. While European mills are also undergoing maintenance outages, these have not been enough to offset ongoing price falls, with weak […]
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/Cliffs_logo2.2.png)
Cliffs seeks $700/ton for HR, up $30/ton from last week
Cleveland-Cliffs said on Wednesday that it would seek at least $700 per short ton (st) for hot-rolled (HR) coil. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said it made the move "due to ongoing market developments." The company said the increase was effective immediately for HR orders for September.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/Nucor.png)
Nucor aims for $675/ton for HR
Nucor has raised its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $675 per short ton (st), up $25/st from last week.