The consultation period for this proposed change will end four weeks from the date of this pricing notice on Friday September 28.
Pending feedback, the last weekly index price would be published on Thursday September 27. The daily US Hot-Rolled Coil Index would be published daily on weekdays, excluding public holidays, from October 1.
A daily US Midwest Hot-Rolled Coil Index would provide greater insight into the direction of the market than a weekly price, American Metal Market contends.
US hot-rolled coil apparent consumption is approximately 22 million tons per year, according to Metal Bulletin Research. The Midwest is the hub of the domestic steel market. American Metal Market therefore believes there is sufficient volume and market liquidity in the region – defined as Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin – to support a daily price.
The specifications for the index are as follows:
US Midwest Hot-Rolled Coil Index
Currency and unit: US dollars per hundredweight
Location: US
Basis: Normalized fob Midwest mill
Price type: Index
Frequency: Daily
Minimum tonnage: 50 tons
Gauge: 0.09 inch-0.38 inch thick x 48-72 inches wide
Quality: ASTM A1011 Commercial Steel and corresponding grades
Packaging: Standard
Raw material surcharges: Included
Publication date: Monday through Friday, excluding holidays
Publication time: By 5 pm EST
American Metal Market’s index methodology screens outliers and applies a tonnage-weighted model to ensure that the US Midwest Hot-Rolled Coil Index is the most robust in the industry.
American Metal Market has no financial interest in the level or direction of the index.
To provide feedback on this index or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter, contact American Metal Market steel correspondent Michael Cowden by email at pricing@metalbulletin.com. Please add the subject heading FAO: Michael Cowden, re: US Midwest Hot-Rolled Coil Index.
To see all of American Metal Market’s pricing methodology and specification documents, please click here.