In the face of declining US domestic hot rolled coil (HRC) spot prices over the past couple weeks, coated flat steel prices had managed to hold their ground. However, downward pressure has been building on US domestic hot dipped galvanized (HDG) and Galvalume coil spot prices, and Galvalume base as well as Galvalume 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 spot prices have now fallen by $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) since last week. As for HDG spot prices, transactions (which continue to slow) are now taking place at the lower end of the below ranges, and as long as HRC spot prices are weakening--as is expected--HDG spot prices will slowly soften as well in the next couple weeks.
As for lead times, which largely remain between six to eight weeks, the disparity between Northern integrated mills and Southern mini-mills is once again growing in prevalence. While Northern mills' lead times are extended with March almost entirely full, if not already moving in April, a few mills in the South still have early to mid-March availability and are having trouble filling order books, due to buyer uncertainty over how much further spot prices could fall.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic HDG base price | $40.00-$42.00 | $882-$926 | $800-$840 | neutral |
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $52.00-$54.00 | $1,146-$1,190 | $1,040-$1,080 | neutral |
| 0.019"x48" G90 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $52.00-$54.00 | $1,146-$1,190 | $1,040-$1,080 | neutral |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $40.00-$42.00 | $882-$926 | $800-$840 | ↓ $1.00 cwt. |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $51.00-$52.00 | $1,124-$1,146 | $1,020-$1,040 | ↓ $1.00 cwt. |