The price of cold rolled coil in North America increased from $1,125/t EXW as of February 28 to $1,162/t EXW as of March 20, according to Kallanish. The rise in product prices is not supported by the growth of domestic demand.
The American auto industry, the main consumer, showed a decrease in production in February. According to S&P Globals, new car sales in the US amounted to 1.23 million units. This is 100 thousand units less than a year earlier.
This means that the driver of price growth was a decrease in supply due to a reduction in imports. As is known, since March 4, the US has been levying an additional 25% duty on the import of all types of metal products. Nevertheless, S&P Globals believes in the growth of the American auto market in 2025 to 16.1 million units. against 15.6 million units in 2024. February auto sales volumes allow reaching the target figure for the year, according to the agency’s analysts. Prospects for growth in demand for cold-rolled products in the US remain.
In Northern Europe, cold-rolled coils rose in price by €5/t in the first week of March, to €685/t EXW, after which they stopped at this level. Prices grew faster in Southern Europe, from €675/t to €695/t EXW Italy as of March 20.
