Some of the price firming that has been seen in US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) has also emerged within the hot dipped galvanized (HDG) and Galvalume markets. SteelOrbis sources have said that although mills are pushing hard to firm base prices, buyers are reluctant to pay higher prices for specialty grades due to more attractive offshore offer prices from Indian and Chinese mills. Ultimately, mills may be quoting higher but they’re having “a heck of time” booking orders.
In addition, last Friday, Nucor and Severstal both announced a second price increase, this one at $1.25 cwt. ($28/mt or $25/nt), which is likely tied to US domestic scrap prices having settled up for the month of April. The secondary increase, however, may be less about pushing prices up higher and more about getting full absorption of the late March increase.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic HDG base price | $37.00-$38.00 | $816-$838 | $740-$760 | up $1.50 cwt. |
| 0.012”x40.875” G30 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $45.00-$47.00 | $992-$1,036 | $900-$940 | up $1.00 cwt. |
| 0.019”x48” G90 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $45.00-$47.00 | $992-$1,036 | $900-$940 | up $1.00 cwt. |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $37.00-$38.00 | $816-$838 | $740-$760 | up $1.00 cwt. |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $45.50-$47.50 | $1,003-$1,047 | $910-$950 | up $1.00 cwt. |