The most commonly heard spot price transaction range for
US domestic cold rolled coil (
CRC) has firmed by $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) on the high end since our last report a week ago, which brings the current average spot market transaction range to $42-$44 cwt. ($926-$970/mt or $840-$880/nt), ex-mill.
Sources close to SteelOrbis have indicated that lead times are still trending between six and eight weeks, depending on the mill; one source indicated that it may be possible to get
US CRC delivered “as quick as four weeks.”
SteelOrbis sources have also said there is a general consensus that spot market prices are “at or near their peak. Unless something very unexpected happens with raw materials, and scrap prices manage to jump up, I don’t see too much movement in terms of where prices are,” a Midwest-based source said.
Another source agreed, but cited a strong belief that customers are wary about doing any significant restocking at current price points. “For the most part, buyers are cautiously optimistic about prices, but that doesn’t mean that people are rushing out to build inventory,” the source said.”