It’s been several weeks since US domestic hot dipped galvanized (HDG) steel producers announced their most recent price increase; sources close to SteelOrbis report that while spot market prices for US domestic base-price HDG has remained steady week-on-week, at approximately $34.50-$35.50 cwt. ($761-$783/mt or $690-$710/nt), ex-Midwest mill, spot market prices for other, specialty-grade HDG and Galvalume coil have continued to settle upward.
One Midwest-based trader source said that his offshore mills are quoting base-price HDG coil “for right around what domestics are quoting so there’s really no advantage in booking offshore right now. The domestics pretty much have their run of the market,” he said.
It’s also speculated that with this month’s forecast uptick in US domestic scrap pricing, that flats mills will be quick to roll out another round of price increase letters once US May scrap prices finally settle. Many believe the next round of price increase letters could come by the end of the current week.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic HDG base price | $34.50-$35.50 | $761-$783 | $690-$710 | neutral |
| 0.012”x40.875” G30 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $43.00-$45.00 | $948-$992 | $860-$900 | up $2.00 cwt. |
| 0.019”x48” G90 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $42.00-$44.00 | $926-$970 | $840-$880 | up $2.00 cwt. |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $34.00-$36.00 | $750-$794 | $680-$720 | up $3.50 cwt. |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $43.00-$45.00 | $948-$992 | $860-$900 | up $3.00 cwt. |