Steel Prices

SMU price ranges: Quiet market ahead of Christmas

Written by Brett Linton

December 17, 2024

SMU price indices held steady once again this week. Our hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and Galvalume coil price ranges were unchanged from last week, while galvanized and plate averages shifted lower by $5 per short ton (st). We have seen little change in sheet and plate prices across the last month.

Sheet prices remain near multi-month lows, while plate prices continue to gradually decline from their mid-2022 peak. Our price momentum indicators for both sheet and plate products remain at neutral.

Note: This will be our final price assessment for the year. We will next update our price ranges on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Refer to Table 1 for the latest SMU steel price indices and how prices have moved in recent weeks.

Hot-rolled coil

The SMU price range is $650-700/st, averaging $675/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Our range is unchanged w/w. Our price momentum indicator for hot-rolled steel remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.

Hot rolled lead times range from 3-6 weeks, averaging 4.9 weeks as of our Dec. 4 market survey. We will publish updated lead times this Thursday.

Cold-rolled coil

The SMU price range is $860–920/st, averaging $890/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Our range is unchanged w/w. Our price momentum indicator for cold-rolled steel remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.

Cold rolled lead times range from 5-9 weeks, averaging 6.9 weeks through our latest survey.

Galvanized coil

The SMU price range is $840–900/st, averaging $870/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $10/st w/w, while the top end is unchanged w/w. Our overall average is down $5/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for galvanized steel remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.

Galvanized .060” G90 benchmark: SMU price range is $937–997/st, averaging $967/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized lead times range from 5-8 weeks, averaging 6.8 weeks through our latest survey.

Galvalume coil

The SMU price range is $850–900/st, averaging $875/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Our range is unchanged w/w. Our price momentum indicator for Galvalume steel remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.

Galvalume .0142” AZ50, grade 80 benchmark: SMU price range is $1,144–1,194/st, averaging $1,169/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume lead times range from 6-8 weeks, averaging 7.3 weeks through our latest survey.

Plate

The SMU price range is $840–880/st, averaging $860/st FOB mill. The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is down $10/st w/w. Our overall average is down $5/st w/w. Our price momentum indicator for plate remains at neutral, meaning we see no clear direction for prices over the next 30 days.

Plate lead times range from 2-6 weeks, averaging 4.1 weeks through our latest survey.

SMU note: Above is a graphic showing our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, Galvalume, and plate price history. This data is also available here on our website with our interactive pricing tool. If you need help navigating the website or need to know your login information, contact us at info@steelmarketupdate.com.

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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