Steel Products Prices North America

Price Announcements Put Spot Numbers in Clearer Focus

April 17, 2016

On Friday, US Steel announced a $60 per ton flat rolled steel price increase. This was the first US Steel announcement done in public in some time. The increase came in the form of a letter emailed to their customers. U.S. Steel did not provide minimum base price guidelines in their announcement although minimum price guidelines were sent to each customer under separate cover.

On Thursday of this past week, ArcelorMittal advised their customers that their “minimum” spot pricing on hot rolled product was $520 per ton ($26.00/cwt). In the email send to customers they also advised the minimum base price levels for cold rolled and coated steels would be $700 per ton ($35.00/cwt).

ArcelorMittal also advised that their AM/NS Calvert mill would not have any spot availability until August but they do have availability at their Northern mills. Hot rolled lead times were referenced as being late June as were cold rolled and coated depending on the facility.

On Thursday, AK Steel also announced a price increase on flat rolled steels. The $50 per ton AK increase was their 5th since they began announcing increases on the 9th of December 2015. Their December increase provided minimum spot selling prices of $420 per ton on hot rolled ($21.00/cwt), $540 per ton on cold rolled ($27.50/cwt) and $550 per ton on galvanized ($27.50/cwt).

Since the early December announcement AK Steel has added an additional $110 per ton of increases. Hypothetically, their spot base prices on flat rolled should be: $530 per ton on hot rolled ($26.50/cwt), $650 per ton on cold rolled ($32.50/cwt) and $660 per ton ($33.00/cwt) on galvanized.

Our sources are telling us that Nucor and NLMK USA are at $520 per ton base for spot hot rolled and $700 base cold rolled and coated.

SDI came out earlier in the week as they opened their May order book at $25.50/cwt ($510 per ton) on hot rolled and $34.50/cwt ($690 per ton) cold rolled and coated.

On Friday we learned that UPI (USS/Posco) opened their July order book and it is expected that California Steel will open their July book on Monday of this week.