Lagging spot market business and still-softening coated steel prices haven’t prevented some within the US domestic HDG market from trending optimistic. “No one is excited about where the market is, not by any stretch,” a source said. “But the forecast uptick in scrap prices for May has us feeling better than we did a week ago.”
The trend toward positivity is rooted in a few different factors. The first, some of the larger HVAC manufacturers have obtained contracts to build smaller, mobile units that will be sold in the Northeast. The second is the national push to reopen various manufacturing plants. However, the extent of what will actually reopen is expected to remain unknown for a few more weeks.
“Our contract business has been great,” a source said. “Our spot business has been tough because a lot of these companies are holding onto cash and they’re reluctant to issue purchase orders. At this point, we feel that the market is close to if not at the bottom, because if the mills go any lower, they’ going to start to lose money.”
This week’s domestic HDG and Galvalume spot market prices are listed in the chart below. It should however, be noted that larger contract buyers have reported deals of up to $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt of $60/nt) below the average price range for "nominal tons."
| Product | $/cwt | $/mt | $/nt | Delivery | Weekly change |
| US domestic HDG base price | $32-$34 | $705-$750 | $640-$680 | ex-mill | down $1.00 cwt on the bottom end |
| US domestic Galvalume base price | $32-$34 | $705-$750 | $640-$680 | ex-mill | down $1.00 cwt on the bottom end |
| 0.019x41.5625 Gr80/AZ55 | $42-$44 | $926-$970 | $840-$880 | ex-mill | down $1.00 cwt on the bottom end |