Steel Products Prices North America
December 7, 2017
Galvanized Coating Extras for 2018 Coming into Focus
Written by John Packard
With the exception of U.S. Steel, all of the domestic steel mills have announced new coating extras for galvanized steel. The coating extras, which were last changed in April/May 2017 (announcements went out in February/March 2017), are rising due to the higher costs associated with zinc, which is the main ingredient used when making galvanized steel. On Dec. 1, 2017, zinc was trading on the LME at $1.48 per pound. Since the middle of September 2017, zinc has been trading between $1.40 and $1.50 per pound.
Steel buyers should be aware of the differences in coating extras as they are not necessarily the same from mill to mill. As mentioned above, the U.S. Steel extras on the website were effective as of April 1, 2017. On a 24-gauge (.0236 min) G90 coil, USS extra is $9.55/cwt versus $10.75/cwt at Nucor and $11.55/cwt at AK Steel.
