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Fastmarkets’ monthly assessment for steel coil Galvalume, fob mill US was $56.50 per hundredweight ($1,130 per short ton) on Tuesday April 21, up by 2.73% from the assessment of $55 per cwt on March 17, and 5.61% higher than the same month last year when it was assessed at $53.50 per cwt.
On the same day, Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest was calculated at $52.42 per cwt ($1,048.40 per short ton), down $0.02 per cwt or 0.04% from $52.44 per cwt a week earlier on April 14.
Domestic lead times are mostly in June, but some mills are still quoting for May delivery as their order books are not full, according to buyers.
A producer source negated this, saying he was seeing “good order book activity in our Galvalume books.”
Additionally, the spread between HRC prices and Galvalume products is narrowing, as the strength in HRC markets is notably absent in the coated markets.
“Mills are pushing for price increases, but distributors are not able to pass on those increases to end buyers,” a distributor said.
A second producer admitted that the spread between HRC and scrap prices have been stronger in the second quarter than all of 2025, which helps mill bottom lines.
The Fastmarkets differential between steel hot-rolled coil index and No1 busheling Chicago scrap stood at $724.21 per gross ton ($646.62 per short ton) on April 21, rising from the low of $462.70 per gross ton ($413.13 per short ton) on September 26, 2025.
This is reflected in strong results being posted by domestic steelmakers. For example, during the quarter ending March 31, SDI reported net sales of $5.2 billion and net income of $403 million.
Integrated steelmaker Cleveland Cliffs posted first-quarter 2026 consolidated revenues of $4.9 billion, compared with $4.6 billion in the first quarter of 2025 and $4.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025.
A second distributor was trenchant in his criticism of rising Galvalume prices, noting that end demand — typically stronger in April at the start of the spring construction season — has instead become depressed.
“Our outbound orders are lower by 10%, which is shocking for April, as during spring the orders generally go up by 15%,” the second distributor said. “My monthly purchase volumes have also gone down by nearly 20% as demand is so soft.”
Demand for Galvalume, which is majorly used for roofing and siding products, has taken a hit due to a variety of reasons, the second distributor said.
“Demand is soft because roofing and sidings are everyday America products — people are worried about filling their gas tank, not putting a new roof,” the second distributor said, acknowledging that data centers and oil and gas sectors are doing well, while residential construction is hurting in the current environment.
“Data centers and oil and gas are all driven by big companies, and they are doing well. Average American businesses like roofing and construction are hurting. The Iran war, high interest rates, gas prices, they all are taking a toll,” the second distributor said.
In this backdrop, domestic producers are continuing to push through base price increases, driven by ongoing strength in HRC markets.
“Mills are raising their prices because they are so happy with HRC — the only reason they are raising Galvalume prices is because HRC is going up,” the second distributor said.
A third distributor agreed.
“Demand for Galvalume is nowhere as good as demand for HRC,” the third distributor said. “Our customer demand is flat to down, and the war in Iran isn’t helping.”
The third distributor also highlighted that there is less money in the US economy overall, and that the country is experiencing ‘stagflation’.
“There is inflation, gas costs are going up — overall, demand isn’t great for non-data center, non-border wall or non-energy driven projects,” the third distributor said, adding that the US is in a “stagflationary environment, whether we say it out loud or not.”
The third distributor also highlighted the negative impact of cutbacks in public infrastructure spending and new US government rules regarding truck drivers needing to be proficient in English, adding to demand crunch for drivers overall.
“The money that the government began paying out to businesses during Covid took some time to trickle down, and all that has stopped now,” the third distributor said.
“Much of steel moves on flat bed trucking, and demand for that has also gone up because of the boom in data center construction, border wall construction, and energy related construction,” the third distributor added. “Freight rate has gone up as demand for these end sectors have gone up, plus the government’s new rule for truck drivers being proficient on English isn’t helping as well.”
These factors are helping invite back imports despite the tariff wall and cost of chartering vessels increasing, sources said.
“The way mills are going, they will be inviting imports back,” the second distributor said.
Till date, the US has imported 54,350 tonnes of carbon and alloy steel with other metallic coatings — the category that includes Galvalume — in April this year, according to data from the US International Trade Administration’s steel import monitoring system. In March, about 45,946 tonnes of carbon and alloy steel with other metallic coatings was imported.
Imported material prices have gone up month on month as well.
“South Korea is going to have a sunset review [for the dumping order in place since 2016 on corrosion-resistant steel products products] in August,” the first distributor highlighted. “They are afraid of additional dumping charges; the US government will review Korean material through July arrival.”
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel coil 55% Al-Zn coated steel import, South Korean-made, ddp Gulf Ports was assessed at $72.50 per cwt on Tuesday, rising by 0.69% from the previous month’s assessment of $72 per cwt.
Fastmarkets’ price assessment for steel coil 55% Al-Zn coated steel import, non-South Korean-made, ddp Gulf Ports was at $72 per cwt on April 21, rising by 1.41% from the previous month’s assessment of $71 per cwt.
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