US HDG prices continue upward climb

For the past two weeks, SteelOrbis has reported that US HDG prices have been on an uptrend, due to US flats mills late-August price increase announcement. Lead times have extended notably, sources said, and are currently hovering between 9-12 weeks. This is a notable increase from August 17, when lead times were trending at 5-7 weeks.

Higher prices and lengthened lead times are due to service centers’ rush to place orders when it was believed that prices had bottomed. When the late-August mill price increase was announced, it “was enough to shake wary buyers off the sidelines. And, as expected, buyers rushed to stock up [when prices were] at the bottom.”

As such, some are skeptical that higher prices will sustain after customers start to receive their orders.  Current prices are listed in the chart below.