US prices for CRC exhausted growth potential by end of March

The price of cold rolled coils in the US remained unchanged from March 7 to March 28. Producer offers were at $1,162/t EXW, according to Kallanish. Over the previous month, the product rose in price by $257/t after Washington announced a 25% duty on all steel imports. Local producers believe that further increases in the price of cold rolled coils will make their imports attractive again.

«We need to find a balance between domestic and international prices. Why raise the price from $100 this week to $1,030 and invite a bunch of opportunistic imports into the country? We can keep prices relatively stable and give the market some stability,» a representative of one of the metallurgical plants said in a comment to Kallanish.

Demand for cold rolled coils from the US auto industry is not showing any growth trends. In January-February, new car sales fell by 3.1% to 2.33 million units. This is forcing manufacturers to adjust their price requests.

«Business remains at a slow and steady level. Why did Nucor raise prices by $5/unit? This tells me that they are simply throwing in the towel. For experienced people, this is a sign that they are ready to work with you. I don’t know why any plant would raise prices now in such a moderate market. We are not seeing an influx of enterprises preparing for seasonal activity,» says a representative of a metal service center.

Indian prices for cold-rolled coils from March 21 to 28 soared from $590/t to $667/t FOB. Before that, they had remained stable since February. Traders attribute this to the introduction of a 12% protective duty on flat-rolled imports from all countries. The Directorate General of Trade Measures announced this decision on March 11.

In addition, Indian producers have the opportunity to export to the EU at higher prices. As of March 24, India’s quota for cold-rolled coil supplies to the EU was only 33% occupied. Strong domestic demand is also pushing prices up. New car sales in India increased by 1.6% y/y to 3.99 million units in January, and by 2.29% in February to 3.806 million units.

«The domestic market looks strong to me. The price increases are being absorbed,» one trader told Kallanish.

Chinese cold-rolled coil prices fell by $3/t to $574/t FOT from March 21 to 28. Since the beginning of the month, the decline was $7/t. European prices increased by €15/t to €700/t from March 14 to 21.

As reported, US enterprises reduced their imports of rolled metal by 29.6% in February 2025 compared to the previous month, to 1.62 million tons. Foreign supplies of cold-rolled rolled products decreased by 31%, to 132 thousand tons, hot-rolled rolled products by 15%, to 151 thousand tons, and galvanized products by 18.5, to 173 thousand tons.