Steel Products
June 11, 2021
SMU CEO Talks About Steel Prices Over the Past Year
Written by John Packard
I thought it would be an interesting exercise to take a look at benchmark hot rolled pricing over the past 12 months. I thought I would compare the numbers on a month-over-month basis to give everyone an idea of how steep the price increases have been. At the same time, we can think about the road back from whence they came and how quickly prices could collapse should that be the case.
HRC prices bottomed during August 2020 as the economy quickly bounced back after the initial shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. SMU’s HRC price not stands at $1,675 per ton ($83.75 per cwt), which is up $135 per ton from $1,540 per ton a month ago. All told, we have had 10 straight months of higher prices. The average increase over those ten months is $121.50 per ton ($6.075/cwt each month).
