Final Thoughts
September 4, 2020
Final Thoughts
Written by Tim Triplett
What a difference a single month can make. Most respondents to SMU’s questionnaire this week see the mills collecting their last price increase and expect them to hike prices again sometime this month. As one executive commented: “There’s been a complete flip in the market from just 30 days ago. We went from discussions about overcapacity, three-week lead times and $420-440 HRC to the potential for allocation, six-week lead times and $540-560 HRC. That says it all.”
Indeed, flat rolled steel prices have risen by nearly $100 per ton in the past month, supported by improving demand and rising scrap prices. SMU estimates the current benchmark price for hot rolled steel at $540 per ton, up from a low of $440 in the week of Aug. 11. Steel prices have a lot of upward momentum right now.
