Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Further Weakening in All But HR

Written by Brett Linton

April 30, 2019

This comment from a large national service center says it all: “Prices are all over the place. It’s as if the discipline is lost. Different mills all seem to have some sort of hole or gap they’re trying to fill causing pricing heartburn.”

Steel Market Update saw further erosion in spot prices on flat rolled and plate steels. Steel buyers are reticent to make large commitments, inventories are on the high side (based on our discussions with buyers as well as the results of our inventories analysis), and scrap prices are slated to fall further. Each of these items (and others) are affecting sentiment and ultimately steel prices. Hot rolled prices took a steep drop last week and maintained the same levels this week. All other items declined.

SMU also changed our Price Momentum Indicator on all items to “Lower” (we previously had coated products at Neutral while HR, CR and plate were already pointing to Lower pricing).

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $600-$680 per ton ($30.00/cwt-$34.00/cwt) with an average of $640 per ton ($32.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained the same compared to one week ago, therefore our overall average is unchanged compared to last week. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 3-6 weeks

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $760-$800 per ton ($38.00/cwt-$40.00/cwt) with an average of $780 per ton ($39.00/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range remained the same compared to last week, while the upper end fell $20 per ton. Our overall average is down $10 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is now at Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 5-8 weeks

Galvanized Coil: SMU base price range is $38.50/cwt-$41.50/cwt ($770-$830 per ton) with an average of $40.00/cwt ($800 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range fell $20 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end declined $10 per ton. Our overall average is down $15 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is now at Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU price range is $848-$908 per net ton with an average of $878 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 4-12 weeks

Galvalume Coil: SMU base price range is $39.00/cwt-$41.50/cwt ($780-$830 per ton) with an average of $40.25/cwt ($805 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range declined $30 per ton compared to last week, while the upper end fell $15 per ton. Our overall average is down $22.50 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on Galvalume is now at Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU price range is $1,071-$1,121 per net ton with an average of $1,096 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 5-7 weeks

Plate: SMU price range is $920-$960 per ton ($46.00/cwt-$48.00/cwt) with an average of $940 per ton ($47.00/cwt) FOB delivered to the customer’s facility. The lower end of our range remained unchanged compared to one week ago, while the upper end declined $20 per ton. Our overall average is down $10 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on plate steel is Lower, meaning we expect prices to decline over the next 30 days.

Plate Lead Times: 4-7 weeks

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.

Brett Linton

Brett Linton is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update, where he began his career. Linton has been in the steel industry since 2010. He has held roles as a category manager and strategic insights director at Reibus before returning to SMU in 2024. He is a graduate of The University of North Georgia with a degree in Finance and Accounting. Brett can be reached at brett@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-314-0179.

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