News & Announcements
Market Overview – Mid May 2026
Steel Market Overview – Mid May 2026
SCRAP
Heavy melt scrap for Chicago was down $10/GT in early May ’26, settling at $365/GT. After rising $85/GT in early Feb ’26 from the ’25 low point of $315/GT, Midwest scrap is down $30/GT.
CARBON PLATE
Mill lead times are 6-7 weeks from the West Coast and are roughly 13-14 weeks when rail is included from mills East of the Rockies. Domestic mills raised prices $60/ton in early Apr ‘26. Additionally, OSM issued a price increase of $60/ton and SSAB issued a price increase of $40/ton in early May ’26. Mill’s East of the Rockies have closed their Jun ‘26 orders books with minimal spot tons available for July. Additional mill price increases are expected. Plate imports are increasing.
HOT ROLL SHEET
Mill lead times are 8 weeks from the West Coast and range between 10-12 weeks for delivery from mills East of the Rockies to the West Coast via rail. Domestic hot roll coil mills increased prices sharply from the ’25 low point in late Sep ’25 through mid-May ‘26 moving indexes up over $340/ton. Nucor’s Coil Spot Price (CSP) was up $205/ton over the same period. Hot roll coil exceeded $1,080/ton FOB Midwest Domestic mills in mid-May ’26. Some market participants expect coil pricing to increase further in the coming months as domestic mills are running behind on deliveries.
HSS TUBE
Tube mill rolling cycles are 4-6 weeks for West Coast tube mills. Domestic tube mills issued (5) price increases from the start of the year totaling $340/ton. The price run up includes recently announced mill increases of $100/ton in late Mar ’26 and $60/ton in early May ’26. Import tube offers are competitive to the West Coast even when the 50% tariff is included.
MERCHANT BAR
Lead times are roughly 5-7 weeks for most mill rolling cycles for West Coast mills. Domestic merchant bar mills announced a price increase of $50/ton on Jan ’26. Nucor announced (2) additional price increases of up to $60/ton in late Mar ’26 and between $40-$60/ton in late Apr ’26 depending on the size. Heavier merchant sizes received higher increases due to strong demand.
BEAM
Beam lead times are roughly 12+ weeks for West Coast delivery when rail is factored in. After domestic beam mills announced (3) price increases for a total of $160/ton in Jan, Feb and Apr ’26 beams are now at an all-time high mill price. Demand for beam products has been buoyed by robust data center builds.
REBAR
Lead times are roughly 4-6 weeks from West Coast rebar mills. Domestic rebar mills increased prices by $30/ton in Jan ’26 and $50/ton in mid Apr ’26.
MARKET
Steel tariffs on imports, strengthening domestic demand, increased raw materials and higher transportation costs have contributed to rising domestic steel prices for all product groups. According to the Institute of Supply Management (ISM), the manufacturing sector expanded in Apr ’26 for the fourth consecutive month. ISM indicates domestic manufacturing expanded month-over-month with an index of 52.7 in Apr ‘26. The ISM New Orders index expanded to 54.1 in Apr ’26, up .6 Mar ’26. The Production index expanded to 53.7 in Mar ‘26, down from .6 from Mar ’26. ISM readings greater than 50 signal expansion. According to the US Dept. of Labor, non-farm payrolls increased by 115,000 in Apr ‘26 and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%. The US Dept. of Commerce indicated that real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at an annualized rate of 2.0% in Q1 ’26, .5% in Q4 ’25, 4.4% in Q3 ’25, and 3.8% in Q2 ’25 after contracting .6% in Q1 ’25. US GDP rates are expected to expand in Q2 ’26.
Sources Include: US Labor & Commerce Departments, Domestic Steel Mills, Scrap Processors, Steel Consumers, ISM, AMM, SIMA, SMU, American Iron and Steel Institute, International Trade Administration
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