Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Supply Concerns Pressure Pricing

Written by John Packard

February 27, 2018

The market is moving very quickly now as issues of supply begin to raise their ugly heads. The issues at California Steel Industries (CSI) have spooked the market and steel mills are abondoning the process of announcing price increases prior to raising prices. In reality, prices have already gone up $50 per ton from the $750 per ton guidance in the last announcement made by ArcelorMittal USA. The mills are already collecting $800, and we learned from a steel buyer today that Nucor is now asking $820 per ton for spot hot rolled coil. We are quickly approaching a market where you may see Steel Market Update adjust our price range and averages multiple times during the course of a week to keep up with the changes being made by the steel mills.

Steel buyers need to stay awake and stay close to their suppliers, both foreign and domestic. In SMU’s opinion, you need to be careful what information you are consuming and make sure you rely on trustworthy sources (like SMU).

Please note that we changed our lead times to “inquire,” which means a number of mills are not taking orders, closed their order books or are limiting tonnage.

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $780-$800 per ton ($39.00/cwt-$40.00/cwt) with an average of $790 per ton ($39.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $60 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end rose $30 per ton. Our overall average is up $45 compared to last week. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is now pointing to Higher indicating prices are expected to increase over the next 30-60 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: Inquire

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $880-$930 per ton ($44.00/cwt-$46.50/cwt) with an average of $905 per ton ($45.25/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range jumped $70 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end rose $20 per ton. Our overall average is up $45 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is now pointing to Higher indicating prices are expected to increase over the next 30-60 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: Inquire

Galvanized Coil: SMU base price range is $43.00/cwt-$46.50/cwt ($860-$930 per ton) with an average of $44.75/cwt ($895 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $30 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end remained the same. Our overall average is up $15 compared to last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is now pointing to Higher indicating prices are expected to increase over the next 30-60 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU price range is $946-$1,016 per net ton with an average of $981 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: Inquire

Galvalume Coil: SMU base price range is $43.50/cwt-$46.50/cwt ($870-$930 per ton) with an average of $45.00/cwt ($900 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $20 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end remained the same. Our overall average is up $10 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on Galvalume steel is now pointing to Higher indicating prices are expected to increase over the next 30-60 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU price range is $1,161-$1,221 per net ton with an average of $1,191 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: Inquire

Plate: SMU price range is $870-$880 per ton ($43.50/cwt-$44.00/cwt) with an average of $875 per ton ($43.75/cwt) FOB delivered. The lower end of our range increased $90 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end increased $10 per ton. Our overall average is up $50 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on plate steel is now pointing to Higher indicating prices are expected to increase over the next 30-60 days. We have limited responses on our inquiries from plate buyers this week, so we will be reviewing the plate numbers in more detail on Wednesday and Thursday.

Plate Lead Times: Inquire

SMU Note: Below is a graphic showing our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume, and plate price history. This data is available here on our website with our interactive pricing tool. Note that plate prices are not yet available on our website, but we are in the process of adding that dataset. If you need help navigating the website or need to know your login information, contact us at info@SteelMarketUpdate.com or 800-432-3475.

John Packard

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