US flat steel prices across SteelOrbis surveyed product grades continued a weekly advance this week, though recent sizable weekly gains seen in domestic hot-rolled coil (HRC) markets have begun to moderate, some insiders say as a result of increased competition from cheap Asian HRC imports.
And while an examination of SteelOrbis historical data shows that flat steel prices have advanced to levels unseen since April 2023 amid continued reports of steady domestic demand, high operating capacity rates in advance of 80 percent, combined with tight spot availability from domestic mills, as flat steel prices have continued post weekly advances, it now appears US mills are becoming increasingly hesitant to continue to raise prices for fear that increased amount of imports will flow into the US from abroad, and compete with domestic producers, despite slashed imports that resulted when Section 232 steel import tariffs that were doubled to 50 percent in June, 2025.
Insiders report to SteelOrbis that cheap Asian HRC export volumes priced on an FOB basis US Gulf Coast inclusive of 50 percent tariffs at $811/nt ($894/mt), or $40.55/cwt., continue to exert increased pricing pressure on US HRC producers, they said.
This week, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Nucor announced that it’s CSP -the posted base price it charges for hot-rolled coils (HRC) across all of its regional mills- would increase only $5/nt -following two weeks of flat pricing- to $1,135/nt ($1,251/mt), or $56.75/cwt. Nucor’s California Steel Industries (CSI) base price also rose a more moderate $5/nt to $1,185/nt ($1,306/mt), or $59.25/cwt, the mill said in its weekly letter to customers.
The Nucor weekly CSP price had increased 23 straight weeks, for a combined gain of nearly 18.95 percent, before stabilizing for two weeks at $56.50/cwt., ($1,130/nt or $1,246/mt). Counting this week’s paltry Nucor HRC advance, the CSP is up nearly 19.5 percent since early January this year.
Interestingly, in the weekly HRC spot markets, few spot market trades at the CSP level are reported to SteelOrbis, as most trades are reported at an average $1,160/nt ($1,279/mt), or $58/cwt,, though up only $2/nt from a week earlier.
And, while flat steel markets may be or approaching the end of a historic price rally that began to post in early-November 2025, a full one-year week-on-week comparison of SteelOrbis historical data shows that HRC pricing has increased nearly 36.5 percent. By comparison, the price of cold-rolled coils (CRC) rose 30.95 percent, while hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) base prices saw a 34.8 percent jump over the equivalent one-year period.
On the supply side, weekly US productive steel mill capacity averaged 79.7 percent of capacity this week, off slightly from the 80.4 percent recorded a week earlier, though still up 3.9 percent from the same one year ago, data from the American Iron and Steel Institute shows.
And, as domestic flat steel spot prices continued to rise, preliminary census data from the US Commerce Department reveals that importers are taking action, as carbon and alloy hot-rolled sheet imports rose about 128.5 percent in May following a 54 percent slump to the lowest levels in 28 years during April. Overall, steel imports across all product categories showed an 11.1 percent increase in May, government data shows.
While most flat steel imports are starting to show substantial monthly gains, on a yearly basis though, April import data shows imports of HRC imports at a nearly 59 percent deficit, while cold rolled coil imports were off nearly 38 percent for the first four months of 2026 compared with the equivalent period one year prior. In the coated steel markets, US imports of hot-dipped galvanized sheet and strip products (HDG) were off nearly 37 percent compared with a year ago. Overall, finished flat steel imports are off on average nearly 27 percent versus the equivalent period in 2025.
In the weekly CRC spot markets, traders report average spot prices on a delivered FOB mill basis gained another $15/nt to finish the week at $1,375/nt ($1,515/mt), or $68.75/cwt., up from the prior week’s $11/nt gain to $1,360/nt ($1,499/mt), or $68/cwt.
Based on a $2/nt rise in weekly HRC values and another $15/nt increase in CRC average spot prices, the current spread between the two key steel grades increased $13/nt to $215/nt or $10.75/nt, against last week’s $202/nt spread at $10.10/cwt., Data shows the HRC/CRC price spread has once again matched it’s previous recent high of $215/nt or $10.75/cwt., achieved three weeks ago.
In the HDG spot markets, the SteelOrbis weekly average price rose an additional $12/nt to on average $1,375/nt ($1,516/mt), or $68.75/cwt., -surprisingly, on par with current CRC pricing- against last week’s $10/nt rise to $1,363/nt ($1,503/mt), or $68.10/cwt., on an FOB mill basis, insiders said.
