Published by:Mark Burgess<>
11 Apr 2025 @ 20:47 UTC
Hot-rolled coil prices in the US Midwest finished the week lower for a second consecutive day despite Cleveland-Cliffs increasing its spot price on Friday April 11.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest was calculated at $47.06 per hundredweight ($941.40 per short ton) on Friday, down by 1.42% from $47.74 per cwt on Thursday April 10 and 0.66% higher than $46.75 per cwt a week earlier on April 4.
Inputs were collected in the buyer and seller sub-indices in a range of $46.00-$48.75 per cwt, representing offers and general market assessments.
Heard in the market Cleveland-Cliffs informed customers on Friday it would begin accepting May orders at a spot price of $975 per ton. On Monday April 7, Nucor held its weekly consumer spot price (CSP) at $46.75 per cwt for a third consecutive week.
A distributor source suggested that Cliffs may have aimed too high with its increase and the new asking price was not representative of current spot market fundamentals.
Another rebuttal was offered by a producer source who was skeptical that the increase was demand-driven, given that much of the consumer base remains on the sidelines and tentative in response to the tariff uncertainty.
Lead times are reported at four to seven weeks.
Quote of the day If the price is to hold, mills will need to be patient, a producer source said. I believe lead-times are reducing as customers are reporting mills shipping and producing early.