Stagnant purchasing activity continues to pressure US flats prices, and coupled with a softer scrap market in May, US domestic hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) spot prices have fallen once again in the last week.
Busheling scrap prices have dropped slightly (about $5/lt) in the US Midwest, while remaining neutral on the US East Coast. Still, scrap demand in May is lighter than it has been in the past couple months, a topic David Hodory, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the David J. Joseph Company (DJJ) touched at during SteelOrbis' May 4 scrap webinar. In discussing the softer scrap prices for May, Hodory said that there has been more supply than expected and less demand than was anticipated.
Mills have tried keeping US domestic HDG spot prices from tumbling too quickly, or too drastically, however the trend continues to point downward for the time being. In the last week, spot prices for HDG and Galvalume base have declined an additional $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) to $45.00-$47.00 cwt. ($992-$1,036/mt or $900-$940/nt) ex-Midwest mill.
Spot prices are down $1.00 cwt. across the board on HDG and Galvalume coating extras as well, with prices for Galvalume under more immediate downward pressure. Not only is Galvalume 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 a predominantly construction item-an industry still only recovering modestly- but one that is more immediately battling lower-cost imports.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic HDG base price | $45-$47 | $992-$1,036 | $900-$940 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $55-$57 | $1,213-$1,257 | $1,100-$1,140 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| 0.019"x48" G90 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $56-$58 | $1,235-$1,279 | $1,120-$1,160 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| Galvalume | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $45-$47 | $992-$1,036 | $900-$940 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| ex-Midwest mill | $57-$59 | $1,235-$1,279 | $1,120-$1,160 | ↓$1.00 cwt. |
Traders inform SteelOrbis that both inquiries and actual orders being placed offshore have slowed slightly in the last week, particularly due to high interest in competitively-priced Mexican import offers to the US with lead times on par with US domestic mills. Mexican offers of Galvalume 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 are currently around $53.00-$54.00 cwt. ($1,168-$1,190/mt or $1,060-$1,080/nt) FOB loaded truck delivered into Houston ports-about $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) below US domestic spot prices. Mexican offers of other HDG products are still primarily on an inquire-only basis, however inquiries have been plentiful. And any offers are likely to be found in the range of $52.00-$54.00 cwt. ($1,146-$1,190/mt or $1,040-$1,080/nt) duty-paid FOB loaded truck delivered into Houston ports on HDG 0.012"x40.875" G30.
| Import HDG offers to the US | Cwt. | Metric ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week |
| 0.012"x40.875" G30 | ||||
| India* | $50-$52 | $1,102-$1,146 | $1,000-$1,040 | neutral |
| China* | $50-$51 | $1,102-$1,124 | $1,000-$1,020 | neutral |
| 0.019" x 48" G90 | ||||
| China* | $50-$52 | $1,102-$1,146 | $1,000-$1,040 | neutral |
| Galvalume | ||||
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | ||||
| India* | $54-$56 | $1,190-$1,235 | $1,080-$1,120 | neutral |
| Taiwan* | $54-$56 | $1,190-$1,235 | $1,080-$1,120 | neutral |
| Mexico** | $53-$54 | $1,168-$1,190 | $1,060-$1,080 | neutral |
**FOB loaded truck delivered into Houston ports