Steel Prices

SMU price ranges: Slow start to the year

Written by Brett Linton & Michael Cowden

January 14, 2025

Steel prices ticked lower this week for four of the five products SMU tracks, according to our latest canvass of the sheet and plate markets.

Following last week’s bump, our hot rolled, cold rolled, galvanized, and plate indices all edged lower this week by $5-15 per short ton (st) on average. Galvalume was the only product to increase, rising $10/st week on week (w/w).

Sheet prices have remained relatively stable since November, with this week’s indices slightly higher than the multi-year low levels of July and August. All of our sheet indices today are no more than $15/st higher than the lows of the last five months.

Plate prices continue to edge lower from their mid-2022 peak. This week, our plate index declined to the lowest level in over four years.

Our price momentum indicators remain at neutral for both sheet and plate products, as they have since October.

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 $650-720/st, averaging $685/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. 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 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 3-7 weeks, averaging 4.7 weeks as of our Jan. 8 market survey.

Cold-rolled coil

The SMU price range is $850–940/st, averaging $895/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $30/st w/w, while the top end is unchanged w/w. Our overall average is down $15/st 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 5-8 weeks, averaging 6.4 weeks through our latest survey.

Galvanized coil

The SMU price range is $820–900/st, averaging $860/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is down $20/st w/w. Our overall average is down $10/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 $917–997/st, averaging $957/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized lead times range from 5-8 weeks, averaging 6.7 weeks through our latest survey.

Galvalume coil

The SMU price range is $830–910/st, averaging $870/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Our entire range shifted up $10/st 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 $1,124–1,204/st, averaging $1,164/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume lead times range from 6-8 weeks, averaging 7.0 weeks through our latest survey.

Plate

The SMU price range is $820–880/st, averaging $850/st FOB mill. The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is down $30/st w/w. Our overall average is down $15/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 3.9 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.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.