Steel Products Prices North America

SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Flat Rolled Price Momentum Adjusted to Higher

Written by Brett Linton

November 5, 2019

Flat rolled prices are beginning to shift gear and are slowly rising after the recent $40 per ton price increase announcements by the domestic steel mills. SMU continues to see a wide variety of pricing in our survey this week, but our channel checks are providing details of prices firming (although some mills appear to still have holes in their fourth-quarter order books). One service center told us this afternoon, “Things seem to be pretty good. We’re not worried about buying on allocation, but prices seem to be sticking.”

SMU is seeing higher prices on all but plate this week. We are adjusting our Price Momentum Indicator on hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized and Galvalume from Neutral to Higher. This means we anticipate flat rolled prices to move higher over the next 30 days. Our indicator on plate remains at Lower.

Here is how we see prices this week:

Hot Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $460-$520 per ton ($23.00-$26.00/cwt) with an average of $490 per ton ($24.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $20 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end remained the same. Our overall average is up $10 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on hot rolled steel is now Higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.

Hot Rolled Lead Times: 2-6 weeks

Cold Rolled Coil: SMU price range is $660-$720 per ton ($33.00-$36.00/cwt) with an average of $690 per ton ($34.50/cwt) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range rose $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 cold rolled steel is now Higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.

Cold Rolled Lead Times: 3-8 weeks

Galvanized Coil: SMU base price range is $33.00-$36.00/cwt ($660-$720 per ton) with an average of $34.50/cwt ($690 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range increased $20 per ton compared to one week ago, while the upper end remained the same. Our overall average is up $10 per ton compared to last week. Our price momentum on galvanized steel is now Higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 Benchmark: SMU price range is $729-$789 per net ton with an average of $759 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized Lead Times: 5-8 weeks

Galvalume Coil: SMU base price range is $35.00-$36.00/cwt ($700-$720 per ton) with an average of $35.50/cwt ($710 per ton) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range increased $20 per ton compared to last week. Our overall average is up $20 per ton compared to one week ago. Our price momentum on cold rolled steel is now Higher, meaning we expect prices to increase over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, Grade 80 Benchmark: SMU price range is $991-$1,011 per net ton with an average of $1,001 per ton FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume Lead Times: 5-8 weeks

Plate: SMU price range is $620-$660 per ton ($31.00-$33.00/cwt) with an average of $640 per ton ($32.00/cwt) FOB delivered to the customer’s facility. Both the lower and upper ends of our range remained the same compared to one week ago. Our overall average is unchanged 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: 4-6 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.

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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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