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Prices & Trends
An interesting event in 2020: US HRC price dips below the China HRC price
Senior Price Reporter, Michael Cowden, talks about what happened in July & August around the US, European and Chinese HRC price and how the US market might or will recover going into fall 2020.
A comprehensive look at the US steel flat-rolled market
US Steel flat-rolled products for the week of September 7, 2020
Hot-rolled coil prices in the United States rose above $27.50 per hundredweight for the first time since late March due to a combination of forces that have quickly elevated prices.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US was calculated at $27.65 per cwt ($553 per ton) on Friday September 11, up by 0.9% from $27.40 per cwt on September 10 and 4.7% from $26.40 per cwt on September 4.
Inputs were received in a range of $26-30 per cwt, a spread of $4 per cwt. The lower end of that range represents prices for deals booked just before some mills started offering at higher prices. The higher end represents the higher offers from those mills.
Producers are booked through October, with lead times into early and mid-November, according to market participants. That - combined with low import levels, higher domestic ferrous scrap prices, lean inventories, planned and unplanned mill outages, and short-term production issues - has created a unique scenario putting strong upward pressure on prices in a relatively short amount of time.
Demand also remains somewhat healthy with the exception of oil and gas, according to some market participants, although not everyone agreed that it has improved that much. Supply is expected to be tight in coming weeks, sources said. As a result, mills are reportedly in no hurry to sell unless they receive orders at higher prices, they said. Still, some buyers cautioned against picking up a significant amount of tons now, pointing to the possibility that prices could tumble after shooting up so fast.
What happened between US HRC and Busheling in 2020?
Managing Editor, Thorsten Schier, reveals the changes and what's impacted this strange event.
Market News
US flat-rolled EAF's fuel new-capacity tsunami
Feature market news
US steel mills are on pace to add more than 13.5 million tons of EAF flat-rolled steelmaking capacity at a cost of at least $6.3 billion...
More news from our experts speaking daily to the markets
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PRICING NOTICE: Proposed amendment to US steel sheet, plate assessments
Fastmarkets AMM proposes amendments to its weekly steel sheet and plate assessments.
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RESEARCH: Improving demand outlooks in Europe, US prompt increases to our HRC price forecasts
The latest forecasts from Fastmarkets’ team of analysts are ready to view.
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US Commerce Department seeks enhanced trade regulations
The United States Department of Commerce has proposed a sweeping set of new rules to clarify and streamline the administration and enforcement of anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws.
Read now
The outages and short-term production issues have made everyone get of the fence to buy some stock, and now we're here in a pretty good order book and backlog into November.
Events & Webinars
Deepen your knowledge with our events & webinars
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Webinar: Insights to Drive Success in the 2020 US HRC Contract Season
Join our experts as we review the dynamics in the US HRC market through the lens of our daily HRC benchmark.
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Steel Success Strategies 2020
Steel Success Strategies is moving online, giving the steel industry a platform to meet and find common solutions in a year of crisis.
Learn more -
Playback: US Steel Supply Chain: Sunny Days Ahead?
This June 2020 webinar, led by our North American steel team, discussed the direction the steel and raw materials markets were headed during the summer and if better days were on the horizon. Watch the playback now.
Watch now
Our methodology
A number of people in the metals industry rely on our price assessments and indices to empower their business decisions everyday. We take this responsibility very seriously, and seize every opportunity to provide an explanation of how we, as a price reporting agency, provide this trustworthy data. Our methodologies are published and made accessible to ensure our price reporting process is fully transparent.
Our North American Steel Editor, Grace Asenov, walks you through how we price our US HRC Index in a quick video below.
You can access our full methodology and price specifications for US HRC Index here and for our other steel prices here.
HRC Index Indicators
Forecasting & analysis
Our HRC forecasts and market analysis help businesses plan ahead.
North American Steel Market Tracker
Industry data
Our industry data gives you the insight you need to dig deeper
Why trust our HRC Index?
We understand how important hot-rolled coil (HRC) is to the steel industry, that’s why we provide a wide range of detailed coverage for this material. From prices and price forecasts to the latest breaking news plus long-term analysis of supply and demand our experts can prepare you for anything you need.
Due to increased volatility and feedback from participants in the flat-rolled markets, in November 2018 we increased the frequency of our HRC index to daily to provide a more market-reflective picture of what's happening. This means that every day our reporters are speaking to members of the steel market, understanding what transactions or impactful situations may have occurred that would shift the market.
As a customer, you can obtain a rich history of this market. We have been reporting on HRC, under the former brand American Metal Market, since 1960 with a weekly assessment. In July 2017, we moved our assessment to an index calculation based on market feedback.
Whether you produce, consume or trade HRC, you can rely on our market information to help ensure you make informed decisions for your business.
HRC, or hot-rolled coil, is the predominant finished steel form in the domestic and global steel industry and is the basis for many steel-based industrial products. Significant liquidity in the HRC market along with its importance as a raw material for manufacturers makes this a critical material with consistent volatility in its physical markets.
HRC is mostly used in industrial fabrication as well as in large end markets like automotive and construction. It also is used as a substrate in welded steel tube and pipe production and heavy industrial equipment in the agricultural industry. Participants active in the physical spot market for HRC includes steel mills, service centers, fabricators, and end users such as pipe mills or automotive companies.
Market participants use our HRC prices as escalators or de-escalators in their contracts, as benchmarks for physical and financial contracts, internal sales/purchasing performance evaluations, inventory appraisals and market trend analysis and forecasting. HRC prices also are generally used as an indicator of the health of a steel industry as it is the most commonly produced steel item, and so is often tracked by analysts and financial institutions.