Steel Products

HARDI Members See Higher Prices Moving Buyers Off Sidelines

October 24, 2023

Members of the Heating, Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) were bullish at the Tuesday, Oct. 24, meeting of its Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council.

“Base prices are relatively the same as they were last year. But last year prices were moving down and this year they seem to be moving up,” noted one attendee. “The [recent price] increase announcement was for $100 a ton, which is a pretty bold increase amount.”

Nucor recently led the price increase move on Oct. 19, followed closely by Cleveland-Cliffs and U. S. Steel, then other North American mills. The increase doesn’t appear to be a deterrent for buyers.

One meeting attendee from the South noted that inquiries and activity have been higher than normal. “People are coming off the sidelines. We’re seeing the effects of price pressure,” he said.

“Quote activity is average at best, maybe a bit slow. Inventory is low,” commented a member from the East Coast.

Another HARDI member said, “We want material sooner than we can get it. October has been strong after we saw a mild decline in September. We’re expecting a strong November. Inventories are above normal and we’re optimistic that the increases have staying power.”

A service center participant shared that order books are filling up. He said there has been a surge in orders over the past six weeks. The service center has seen an increase from all markets.

At last month’s HARDI meeting, 50% of survey participants anticipated galvanized base prices to be flat (+/- $ 2 per cwt or $40 per net ton). The remainder of the participants were evenly distributed up or down.

On this month’s call, 39% of participants present expect galvanized base prices to be up more than $2 per cwt over the next month. Another 25% expect the price to be flat (+/- $2 per cwt), while 21% predict the price to increase more than $4 per cwt. Looking forward six months out, 39% believe prices will be up more than $6 per cwt, while 32% think prices will be up more than $2 per cwt. Of members present, 25% think prices will be flat (+/-$2 per cwt) over the next 30 days.

Steel Market Update participates in a monthly steel conference call hosted by HARDI. The call is dedicated to a better understanding of the galvanized steel market. The participants are HARDI member companies, wholesalers who supply products to the construction markets. Also on the call are service centers and manufacturing companies that either buy or sell galvanized sheet and coil products used in the HVAC industry and are suppliers to the HARDI member companies

Becca Moczygemba

Becca Moczygemba is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has been in the steel industry since 2017, specializing in flat-rolled products. Prior to joining SMU, she held positions at Mitsui & Co. and Kloeckner Metals. Becca has a BA in Organizational/Corporate Communication from the University of Houston and an MBA from Norwich University. Contact Becca at becca@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1000.