Despite expectations that flats mills would wait until after Labor Day to try to push prices up, at least one mill has stepped forward to test the proverbial waters. On Wednesday, California Steel Industries announced it would be rolling out a $1.25 cwt. ($28/mt or $25/nt) price increase for hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC) and galvanized products, effective immediately. Although it’s still too soon to call how much, if any of that increase will be absorbed in the market place, many feel the announcement was premature, and that mills will have a hard time getting prices up until September. For now, the most commonly reported ex-Midwest mill spot price has held at approximately $33.00-$34.00 cwt. ($727-$750/mt or $660-$680/nt) with buys taking place at levels on both the top and bottom end of that range depending on the size and scope of the order.
Meanwhile, offer prices from Mexican producers have held steady with levels seen one week ago, with order activity and inquiries holding at neutral.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US domestic | ||||
| Ex-Midwest mill | ||||
| HRC | $33.00-$34.00 | $727-$750 | $660-$680 | neutral |
| Mexico** | ||||
| HRC | $31.50-$32.50 | $694-$717 | $630-$650 | neutral |
| **DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston | ||||