AK Steel Takes Flat Rolled Steel Prices Up Another $30

On December 9, 2015 AK Steel advised the following minimum base prices: hot rolled = $420 per ton, cold rolled = $540 per ton and galvanized = $550 per ton.

With their latest announcement (which was made on Wednesday, January 13, 2016) the base prices are increased to:

hot rolled = $450 per ton ($22.50/cwt)

cold rolled = $570 per ton ($28.50/cwt)

galvanized = $580 per ton ($29.00/cwt)

AK Steel has not been an overly active participant in the spot markets over the past few months and their prices are going to be at the high end of the range being mentioned as being available in the marketplace.

A buyer told SMU on Wednesday evening when commenting on the latest round of price increases and specifically where US Steel and AK Steel are fitting into the spot market, “It seems to me like USS and AK are irrelevant in the non-automotive flat rolled market right now.”

A service center buyer spoke with Steel Market Update on Thursday afternoon who told us that the latest moves by the domestic mills to increase pricing, “It forces people offshore” and we were told that the percentage of foreign on their order book would be going up. The reason being, “Our business is not being supported by the domestic mills, they need to be priced globally competitively…but they would rather pay attorneys [in an effort to keep foreign steel out].”