Steel Products Prices North America
November 1, 2016
SMU Price Ranges & Indices: Moving on Up
Written by John Packard
It does not feel like a “rocket” market. By that we mean we are seeing prices skyrocketing at a breakneck pace. Don’t get us wrong. Prices have indeed changed coarse and the Momentum is for prices to trend higher over the next month of two. We just need to be careful as different products and different mills may be reacting differently to the market. We are seeing flat rolled prices tightening – especially at the lower end of the range. A number of buyers have come out of the woodwork which has impacted the mill lead times. Again, not all mills are created equally so you may see one mill on an “inquire only” basis while a second mill with the same products located in a different region of the country may have 2-4 week lead times.
SMU is seeing strength in the coated markets while hot rolled continues to be the weakest product – stronger than it was but still not at par with the other flat rolled products.
