Published by: Rachel McGuire<>
25 Mar 2025 @ 20:59 UTC

Steel hot-rolled coil prices in the US Midwest were mostly steady for a second day on Tuesday March 25 while the uncertainty surrounding US import tariffs continued to damp spot market demand, Fastmarkets heard.

Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest, was calculated at $47.32 per hundredweight ($946.40 per short ton) on Tuesday, up by 0.02% from $47.31 per cwt the day before, but down by 0.44% from $47.53 per cwt on March 18.
Inputs were collected in the range of $47.30-47.75 per cwt in the buyer sub-index, representing general estimates of the spot market and offers.
Inputs were rolled over in the seller sub-index due to a lack of liquidity.
Heard in the market Market activity slowed with buyers adopting a wait and see approach ahead of the proposed April 2 imposition of tariffs. Market sources said that if the tariffs contained exemptions and exclusions, then pricing has peaked. One said that if they are light on exclusions, and tariffs stack on Canada, I could see more upside potential on prices.
Demand was weak while buyers awaited the tariffs.
Market participants were not seeing buyers jump at the new prices in response to the market turmoil. But panic buying in previous weeks could have created some overhang that contributed to slower demand. Market sources reported that the panic buying was over amid the stronger prices.
Lead times were reported to be 4-6 weeks. I am not seeing lead-times strengthen at all, one market source said. Most [hot-rolled material] is still 4 weeks out.
Quote of the day Right now, I think the panic buying has stopped and customers are waiting to see what is going to happen with the tariffs and pricing. We enjoyed about a month of strong sales but, if today is an indication of the future, the phones are not ringing.