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FeatureSteel prices

Steel prices Producer Price Index

Steel mill prices rose 27.6% in the year to September 2026, the largest gain since May 2022

The producer price index for steel mill products rose 2.2% in September 2026 to 388.58, 27.6% above a year earlier and its tenth monthly gain in a row.

WPU1017On the year
+27.6%September 2025: 304.579
Sep 2026Index
388.580Highest since July 2022
From AugOn the month
+2.2%August: 380.348
Since Dec 2025Gains in a row
10Longest since the run that ended in December 2021

Steel mill prices rose for a tenth month in September 2026 while scrap fell

100300500700900INDEX, 1982=100201720182019202020212022202320242025202610 MONTHLY GAINS IN A ROWPRELIM.SERIES RECORD, DEC 2021449.711NOV 2025291.556SCRAP HIGH, MAR 2026 614.795STEEL MILL PRODUCTS388.580IRON AND STEEL SCRAP580.952 100300500700900INDEX, 1982=1002018202020222024202610 GAINSPRELIM.RECORD DEC 2021449.711MILL388.58SCRAP580.952
Producer price indexes for steel mill products (WPU1017) and iron and steel scrap (WPU1012), both 1982=100, not seasonally adjusted, monthly from September 2016 to September 2026. June through September 2026 are preliminary and hatched. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index for steel mill products rose 2.2% in September 2026 to 388.580, its highest reading since July 2022. A producer price index tracks the prices U.S. producers receive for what they sell, here the sheet, plate, bar, pipe and wire that U.S. steel mills ship. The index stood 27.6% above September 2025, its largest gain on the year since May 2022. BLS published the September figure on October 15, and it is preliminary.

September was the tenth monthly gain in a row, starting in December 2025. That is the longest run since the 16 months of increases from September 2020 to December 2021, which ended at the series record of 449.711. The index is now 13.6% below that record and 33.3% above November 2025.

The index for iron and steel scrap, which electric arc furnaces melt into new steel, fell 0.3% in September to 580.952, its third monthly decline, and is 5.5% below its March 2026 high of 614.795. Over the same six months the mill products index rose 17.3%.

01Month by month

Every month since December 2025 rose, the largest by 7.15%

The largest monthly gain in the run came in December 2025, at 7.15%. Since then the index has risen between 0.95% and 4.03% each month.

The mill products index rose in each of the last ten months

−4−20+2+4+6+8CHANGE ON MONTH, %PRELIMINARY−1.36SEP2025−1.29OCT−3.03NOV+7.15DEC+0.95JAN2026+3.09FEB+1.92MAR+3.08APR+2.47MAY+2.85JUN+4.03JUL+1.57AUG+2.16SEP −40+4+8CHANGE ON MONTH, %SEP 2025−1.36OCT 2025−1.29NOV 2025−3.03DEC 2025+7.15JAN 2026+0.95FEB 2026+3.09MAR 2026+1.92APR 2026+3.08MAY 2026+2.47JUN 2026 P+2.85JUL 2026 P+4.03AUG 2026 P+1.57SEP 2026 P+2.16
Change on the previous month in the producer price index for steel mill products (WPU1017), percent, not seasonally adjusted, September 2025 to September 2026. Hatched bars are preliminary. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED.

02By product

Cold rolled sheet rose 36.9% on the year and steel wire 4.5%

The gain was widest in flat steel. Cold rolled sheet and strip, the thin, smooth sheet used for appliance panels, enclosures and ductwork, rose 4.9% in September to 492.454 after rising 5.1% in August. It has risen for 11 months in a row, its longest run since the 13 months that ended in November 2021, and it is 36.9% above September 2025. Even so, it sits 30.8% below its November 2021 record of 711.611.

Sheet led every steel product on the year, and only cold finished bars fell on the month

ON YEARON MONTH0%10%20%30%40%STEEL MILL PRODUCTSMPSteel mill productsWPU1017 · 1982=10027.6%+2.2CRCold rolled sheet and stripWPU101707 · Jun 1982=10036.9%+4.9HRHot rolled bars, plate and shapesWPU101704 · Jun 1982=10015.0%+3.0PTSteel pipe and tubeWPU101706 · Jun 1982=10013.2%+0.6SFSemifinished steel mill productsWPU101702 · Jun 1982=1008.3%+0.2SPStainless pipe and tubeWPU10170674 · Dec 2010=1007.7%+0.2CFCold finished barsWPU101708 · Jun 1982=1005.8%−0.2WRSteel wireWPU101705 · Jun 1982=1004.5%+1.1FURTHER UP AND DOWN THE CHAINFSFabricated structural metalWPU107 · 1982=1007.4%+1.0FeIron and steel scrapWPU1012 · 1982=10010.2%−0.3 YEARMONTH0%20%40%STEEL MILL PRODUCTSMPSteel mill products27.6%+2.2CRCold rolled sheet and strip36.9%+4.9HRHot rolled bars, plate and shapes15.0%+3.0PTSteel pipe and tube13.2%+0.6SFSemifinished steel mill products8.3%+0.2SPStainless pipe and tube7.7%+0.2CFCold finished bars5.8%−0.2WRSteel wire4.5%+1.1FURTHER UP AND DOWN THE CHAINFSFabricated structural metal7.4%+1.0FeIron and steel scrap10.2%−0.3
Change from September 2025 to September 2026 (bars) and from August to September 2026, percent, in producer price indexes for steel products and scrap. Not seasonally adjusted. 2026 values are preliminary. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED.
  • Hot rolled bars, plate and structural shapes, the index that covers rebar, plate and beams, rose 3.0% to 319.693 and is 15.0% above a year earlier. It is the highest since September 2022 and 6.2% below its June 2022 record.
  • Steel pipe and tube rose 0.6% and is 13.2% above a year earlier.
  • Steel wire rose 1.1% and is up 4.5% on the year, the smallest gain on the year among the carbon steel products.
  • Cold finished bars fell 0.2%, the only steel mill product in the group to decline in September.
  • Stainless pipe and tube rose 0.2% and is 7.7% above September 2025.

Since September 2024, the mill products index rose 43.4%

Rebased to September 2024, cold rolled sheet rose 47.6% in two years and the mill products index 43.4%, while scrap rose 12.5%.

Cold rolled sheet rose 47.6% in two years, scrap 12.5%

100120140SEP 2024SEP 2026147.6CRCold rolled sheet and strip
100120140SEP 2024SEP 2026143.4MPSteel mill products
100120140SEP 2024SEP 2026120.7HRHot rolled bars, plate and shapes
100120140SEP 2024SEP 2026119.9PTSteel pipe and tube
100120140SEP 2024SEP 2026114.8FSFabricated structural metal
100120140SEP 2024SEP 2026112.5FeIron and steel scrap
Producer price indexes rebased so that September 2024 = 100, not seasonally adjusted, monthly to September 2026. Every panel uses the same scale, and the other five series are drawn in gray behind each one. June through September 2026 are preliminary and hatched. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED.

03Fabricated metal

Fabricated structural metal set a record at 418.262

WPU107418.262Highest in a series that begins in January 1947
Since Jan 202521Monthly gains in a row

The index for fabricated structural metal products rose 1.0% in September to 418.262, the highest in a series that begins in January 1947. By the BLS commodity codes, the group includes structural, architectural and pre-engineered metal products, sheet metal products, metal tanks, and metal doors and trim. It has risen for 21 months in a row, starting in January 2025, the longest run since the 34 months of increases that ended in November 1995. Its gain on the year, 7.4%, is about a quarter of the mill index's 27.6%.

04Section 232

Both Septembers fall under a 50% tariff on imported steel

Both months in this comparison fall under a 50% tariff on imported steel. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 lets the president adjust imports that threaten national security.

  1. June 4, 2025Proclamation 10947 raised the Section 232 duty on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for goods entered on or after June 4, 2025.
  2. April 6, 2026Proclamation 11021 changed the regime from April 6, 2026, applying the duty to the full customs value of steel articles and their derivatives regardless of metal content, at 50% for steel articles and 25% for UK steel melted and poured in the United Kingdom.
  3. June 8, 2026Proclamation 11032 set lower rates from June 8, 2026 through December 31, 2027 on a list of derivative products that includes mobile industrial equipment, and moved the threshold for counting a product as made entirely of U.S. metal from 95% to 85%.

The price indexes do not separate the effect of a duty from other causes.

05Revisions

The August mill index was revised down 0.21%, hot rolled 0.63%

The October 15 release revised the four months before September, mostly downward and by small amounts. Steel mill products for August went from 381.162 to 380.348, down 0.21%. The largest revision in the group was to hot rolled bars, plate and shapes for August, down 0.63% to 310.493, which turned August into a small decline for that index. Cold rolled sheet was unchanged.

Revisions in the October 15 release. All values are preliminary.
Index2026BeforeAfterRevision, %Revision, bar
Steel mill productsJul374.793374.462−0.09
Steel mill productsAug381.162380.348−0.21
Hot rolled bars, plate and shapesJul312.161311.507−0.21
Hot rolled bars, plate and shapesAug312.467310.493−0.63
Cold rolled sheet and stripJul446.617446.6170.00
Cold rolled sheet and stripAug469.251469.2510.00
Iron and steel scrapJul589.583589.770+0.03
Iron and steel scrapAug580.548582.967+0.42
July and August 2026 index values as published before and after the October 15, 2026 release. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, ALFRED vintage data.

06Remarks

What this means for a steel quote

  • Index an escalation clause to the product you buy. A shop that buys sheet would name “Producer Price Index for cold rolled steel sheet and strip, WPU101707,” and a structural job would name hot rolled bars, plate and structural shapes, WPU101704. Over the past year those two moved 36.9% and 15.0%, so the broad mill products index would overstate one and understate the other. State the base month, how often the price adjusts, and whether the calculation uses the first-published value or the value after revisions.
  • Ask a supplier what a sheet or plate quote is built on, the date of that price, and how many days it holds. CME Group lists hot rolled coil futures, and a supplier can tell you whether their price follows that or a mill's published price.
  • On an imported steel article or derivative, ask whether the price includes the Section 232 duty and which annex and rate apply. A customs broker can check the classification, and a trade attorney can advise on a particular entry.

07Notes

Caveats

Every value from June 2026 onward is preliminary, and BLS can revise each month for up to four months after it first appears.

The indexes are national averages of what U.S. mills and fabricators receive. They leave out the service center's markup, cutting, freight and any surcharge on a particular order, and they cover domestic producers, so they do not price an imported product after duty.

The indexes are not seasonally adjusted, so the change on the year compares each month with the same month a year earlier.

Each index has its own base period, so a higher number on one index does not mean a higher price than on another. Comparing them shows how fast each moved.

08Data

The numbers behind the charts

Steel products and scrap. 2026 values are preliminary.
IndexSep 2025Aug 2026Sep 2026On month, %On year, %
Steel mill productsWPU1017 · 1982=100304.579380.348388.580+2.2+27.6
Cold rolled sheet and stripWPU101707 · Jun 1982=100359.641469.251492.454+4.9+36.9
Hot rolled bars, plate and shapesWPU101704 · Jun 1982=100277.952310.493319.693+3.0+15.0
Steel pipe and tubeWPU101706 · Jun 1982=100381.298429.050431.717+0.6+13.2
Stainless pipe and tubeWPU10170674 · Dec 2010=100143.246153.947154.210+0.2+7.7
Steel wireWPU101705 · Jun 1982=100374.422386.976391.099+1.1+4.5
Semifinished steel mill productsWPU101702 · Jun 1982=100368.880398.807399.420+0.2+8.3
Cold finished barsWPU101708 · Jun 1982=100262.216278.001277.314−0.2+5.8
Fabricated structural metalWPU107 · 1982=100389.391414.132418.262+1.0+7.4
Iron and steel scrapWPU1012 · 1982=100527.241582.967580.952−0.3+10.2
Producer price indexes for steel products and scrap, not seasonally adjusted. Each index has its own base period. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED. Download the data (CSV).
Steel mill products, the last 13 months. P is preliminary.
MonthIndexOn month, %Change on month, barOn year, %
Sep 2025304.579−1.36+12.4
Oct 2025300.665−1.29+10.0
Nov 2025291.556−3.03+4.7
Dec 2025312.410+7.15+17.2
Jan 2026315.369+0.95+20.6
Feb 2026325.105+3.09+20.9
Mar 2026331.357+1.92+15.3
Apr 2026341.570+3.08+12.4
May 2026349.997+2.47+7.1
Jun 2026 P359.958+2.85+16.4
Jul 2026 P374.462+4.03+22.6
Aug 2026 P380.348+1.57+23.2
Sep 2026 P388.580+2.16+27.6
Producer Price Index, steel mill products (WPU1017), 1982=100, not seasonally adjusted. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED. Download the data (CSV), the ten-year series or the rebased series.