Price Change for Q2 2026

I wanted to share an update on pricing, lead times, and the steel industry heading into Q2.

As we communicated last quarter, we held your pricing firm for Q1 2026. We’re glad we were able to do that. However, cold-rolled steel has risen about $65 per ton since our last update. We’re not passing all of that along; instead, we’re passing along a Q2 price adjustment of 3.85%

Your regional sales manager will be reaching out shortly with your updated Q2 pricing. As always, we aim to give you as much advance notice as possible so you can plan accordingly.

According to Steel Market Update, cold-rolled coil has been trending higher since September and recently hit a 10-month high. According to their latest assessment, cold-rolled is now averaging $1,135 per short ton – ranging from $1,110–1,160/st – with mill lead times averaging 7.6 weeks.

SMU’s price momentum indicator continues to signal further increases in the short term, so we don’t anticipate conditions easing in the near future.

Domestic mills report strong volume and rising transaction prices, with one mill source telling SMU that cold-rolled prices on spot orders have reached $1,180/st with lead times already pushing into May.

Steel Supply Constraints

Part of what’s sustaining these price increases is a persistent supply gap. According to SMU’s analysis, US steel supply (a measure of total finished steel entering the market) has declined for five consecutive months on a three-month moving average basis, sitting at a 13-month low as of December. While December showed a partial month-over-month recovery, the broader trend remains constrained well below historical norms.

Simply put, the domestic market isn’t producing enough steel to push prices back down.

An Update on Lead Times 

The good news is that our current lead times have held steady at 3-4 weeks for most plain and litho steel pail configurations.

It’s been a major goal of our operations team to reduce lead times and keep them down. As demand continues to grow throughout the year, we’re carefully managing capacity to respond quickly without compromising quality or delivery times.

For Further Reading:

• Cold Rolled Steel Pricing: https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/2026/02/24/smu-price-ranges-sheet-seems-modest-increase-plate-jumps/
• Market Impact of US Steel Tariffs: Trump Tariffs: The Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War
• Steel Market Update: SMU Price Ranges: Sheet sees modest increase, plate jumps
• Steel Market Update: Sheet prices and demand tick upward 
• Steel Market Update: US apparent steel supply recovers in December but remains low