Steel prices slipped again this week, with all five of SMU’s sheet and plate indices trending lower for the second week in a row. The market continues to cool following the February-March rally, with cautious buyers waiting on the sidelines amid ongoing tariff uncertainty, demand concerns, and new capacity coming online.

Hot-rolled coil prices eased for the fourth-consecutive week, down $10 per short ton (st) from last week and $55/st lower than levels seen one month ago.

Tandem products saw slightly steeper declines: our cold rolled and Galvalume indices both fell $15/st week over week (w/w), while galvanized prices declined $20/st. Compared to one month ago, cold-rolled prices are down just $5/st, while coated products are down as much as $40/st.

Plate saw the smallest movement this week, slipping $5/st w/w. This marks the second consecutive weekly decline, following the one-year high seen at the start of April.

SMU’s price momentum indicator remains at neutral for all sheet and plate products, indicating we see no strong directional signals over the next 30 days.

Refer to Table 1 (click to enlarge) for our latest price indices and trends.

Hot-rolled coil

The SMU price range is $840-950/st, averaging $895/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is down $20/st. Our overall average is down $10/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 4-7 weeks, averaging 5.5 weeks as of our April 2 market survey. We will update lead times on Thursday.

Cold-rolled coil

The SMU price range is $1,060–1,180/st, averaging $1,120/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $20/st w/w, while the top end is down $10/st. Our overall average is down $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 6-9 weeks, averaging 7.0 weeks through our latest survey.

Galvanized coil

The SMU price range is $1,030–1,170/st, averaging $1,100/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $30/st w/w, while the top end is down $10/st. Our overall average is down $20/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 $1,127–1,267/st, averaging $1,197/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvanized lead times range from 6-9 weeks, averaging 7.2 weeks through our latest survey.

Galvalume coil

The SMU price range is $1,060–1,190/st, averaging $1,125/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies. The lower end of our range is down $20/st w/w, while the top end is down $10/st. Our overall average is down $15/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 $1,354–1,484/st, averaging $1,419/st FOB mill, east of the Rockies.

Galvalume lead times range from 6-10 weeks, averaging 7.5 weeks through our latest survey.

Plate

The SMU price range is $1,100–1,270/st, averaging $1,185/st FOB mill. The lower end of our range is unchanged w/w, while the top end is down $10/st. Our overall average is down $5/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 4-8 weeks, averaging 5.8 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 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 info@steelmarketupdate.com.