USA HRC Spot Pricing at $1,225/ton
It’s a short week after the Labor Day Holiday in the United States, but WSD’s canvassing of market participants over the past few days points to a current transaction range for US-made hot-rolled coil (HRC) of $1,220-$1,230 per ton, according to both buyers and sellers. The range narrowed compared to last week’s — when the low side was about $1,200, and the high at $1,230/ton.
“If you can find spot material—NOT tied to any contract arrangement—you can expect to pay $1,220-$1,230 for a few-hundred-ton-sized order,” a Midwest service center buyer said. He added that some mill offers, however, were at $1,240 per ton, “or slightly above, which some suppliers are getting for small tons.”
Mill outages are set to start soon, and the market is tightening even more—due to supply limitations and continued demand strength, market participants agreed. Lead times, in some cases, are approaching Thanksgiving—but generally are said to be about 8-10 weeks.
On Tuesday, Nucor raised its weekly Consumer Spot Price (CSP) for HRC by $5 to $1,190 per ton, which was still about $30-$35 per ton below reported typical transactions. Its CSI price climbed to $1,250/ton.
“The market has disconnected somewhat from the Nucor CSP,” a steel distributor told WSD. “And yeah, the market is tight, but other suppliers do have spot material,” he emphasized, adding: It’s not like there is none; Just expect to pay a bit more and wait longer for it.”
Echoing that, Worthington Steel’s Jason Miller, VP of Cost and Planning, wrote recently on LinkedIn a mill that was participating at $1,200 s/t is “now on the sidelines and potentially down to leaving only one other mill who happens to be on the higher end at $1,240 s/t.” He expected there would be some one-off transactions somewhere in between, “but limited volumes are looked to be available on spot as the mills head into their fall outages.”
Miller added: “Demand remains stable and even with any holiday slowdown, most would expect that contract buying will remain stable so buyers can work to build inventory and take advantage of trailing prices before the new year starts.”
Also, after the holiday weekend, HRC contract settlements on the CME all climbed Tuesday between $2 and $12/ton versus Friday, for positions being taken through the March 2027 contract.
The September contract settlement of $1,230 per ton indicates a futures market approaching backwardation, given the latest physical market spot price midpoint of $1,225 per ton—if not already there, in some cases.
Meanwhile, the September market for ferrous scrap settled sideways—and quickly—for prime material and most other grades, according to market participants.