SMU price ranges: Most products tick lower on election week - Steel Market Update

Steel Prices

Written by Brett Linton

November 5, 2024

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SMU price indices edged lower this week for all products but one, marking the fifth consecutive week of overall declining prices.

Hot rolled and coated sheet prices remain near multi-month lows. Our hot-rolled sheet index eased to an 11-week low of $680 per short ton (st) this week. Coated prices have now fallen beneath the previous 2024 lows seen earlier in July. The last time galvanized ($865/st) or Galvalume ($885/st) prices were this low was the first week of October in 2023.

The only product to increase this week was cold-rolled sheet, increasing $15/st week over week (w/w) to a three-week high of $930/st.

Plate prices continue to drop following their mid-2022 peak. They declined for the sixth week in a row to $880/st this week. The last time plate prices were cheaper than those today was the last week of 2020 (nearly four years ago!).

Our sources continue to say they’ve felt little to no impact from the recently announced mill price increases. We wait to see what effect that, or the election, could have on the steel market.

SMU’s price momentum indicator remains at neutral for both sheet and plate products, following our Oct. 28 adjustment. (Note the new column added to the right of Table 1 indicating our price momentum by product).

The SMU price range is $640-720/st, averaging $680/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 3-6 weeks, averaging 4.6 weeks as of our Oct. 23 market survey. We will report updated lead times in our Thursday newsletter.

The SMU price range is $900–960/st, averaging $930/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is up $20/st w/w, while the top end is up $10/st w/w. Our overall average is up $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 5-9 weeks, averaging 6.4 weeks through our latest survey.

The SMU price range is $820–910/st, averaging $865/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $20/st w/w, while the top end is up $10/st 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 $917–1,007/st, averaging $962/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

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

The SMU price range is $840–930/st, averaging $885/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. Both the lower and upper ends of our range are down $20/st w/w. Our overall average is down $20/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 $1,134–1,224/st, averaging $1,179/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume lead times range from 6-7 weeks, averaging 6.8 weeks through our latest survey.

The SMU price range is $840–920/st, averaging $880/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 4.0 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 [email protected].

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 [email protected] or 724-314-0179.

Nucor’s weekly consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled coil was unchanged week on week at $740 per short ton as of Monday, Nov. 4.

The premium galvanized-coil prices carry over hot-rolled (HR) coil continues to decline following the uptick seen earlier this year.

The theme of “unprecedented stability” in pricing predominated among galvanized steel buyers this month.

Cleveland-Cliffs is keeping its market price for HRC flat at $750/short ton with the opening of its December order book.