Coated flat steel spot prices in the US have dropped by $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) across the board since last week. Currently, purchasing activity levels in the US for flat steel products are minimal with most buyers sitting on the sidelines until the very last minute when it comes to placing an order. Consequently, the market appears far away from an inflection point and end to the price deterioration given that scrap prices could sink as much as $30-$50/lt in some regions during October buys. The scrap price drop will force flats mills to be more flexible with lowering prices, by at least a portion of what the scrap price drops settles at, according to SteelOrbis sources.
Just in the past week, US domestic hot dipped galvanized and Galvalume base spot prices fell to $34.50-$35.50 cwt. ($761-$782/mt or $690-$710/nt) ex-Midwest mill. However, there are deals being made under the range for anyone looking to make a big purchase. HDG 0.012"x40.875" G30 and HDG 0.012"x40.875" G30 prices are now $44.50-$45.50 cwt. ($981-$1,003/mt or $890-$910/nt) ex-Midwest mill, with rumblings of some mills going as much as $1.00 cwt. below the bottom end of the range. As is common in a declining market, buyer sources have said that prices for value-added products are falling the fastest as mills attempt to keep spots for hot rolled coil (HRC) and cold rolled coil (CRC) as high as possible.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic HDG base price | $34.50-$35.50 | $761-$782 | $690-$710 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $44.50-$45.50 | $981-$1,003 | $890-$910 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| 0.019"x48" G90 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $44.50-$45.50 | $981-$1,003 | $890-$910 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $34.50-$35.50 | $761-$782 | $690-$710 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $44.50-$45.50 | $981-$1,003 | $890-$910 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |