Steel Products Prices North America
Mills Boost Prices on Plate, Flat Roll
Written by Tim Triplett
January 30, 2018
Responding to strong demand in the New Year and the market’s apparent acceptance of higher price tags, the major mills have announced another round of price increases on plate and flat rolled products. For most mills, this is the fourth increase they’ve announced in the past three months.
O
n Monday, Nucor’s Plate Mill Group announced a $50 per ton increase on all new orders for carbon, alloy and heat-treated plate.
SSAB Americas also notified customers on Monday of a $50 per ton increase in transaction prices on its steel plate products. SSAB’s increase applies to As-Rolled Mill Plate, Cut-To-Length Plate >72”, Hot Rolled Coils >72”, as well as Normalized and Quenched & Tempered Plate.
On the flat rolled side of the market, West Coast mills California Steel Industries (CSI) and USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) were the first to announce price hikes last Wednesday. CSI raised transaction prices by $60 per ton on hot rolled and P&O, $40 per ton on galvanized and $30 per ton on cold rolled. UPI announced a $60 per ton increase on hot rolled P&O and $40 per ton.
On Thursday, ArcelorMittal USA announced new base prices for its sheet products, setting hot rolled at $750 per ton and cold rolled and hot-dipped galvanized at $930 per ton.
The Nucor Sheet Mill Group informed customers on Friday that it is raising base prices on new orders by a minimum of $30 per ton on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products.
On Monday, both NLMK USA and AK Steel made similar announcements on flat roll. NLMK USA notified customers that it was increasing base prices on all products by $30 per ton. Likewise, AK Steel informed customers it was increasing current spot market base prices for all carbon flat-rolled steel products by a minimum of $30 per ton.
All the mill price increases take effect immediately on unconfirmed noncontract orders. All extras will be applied as published, said the companies.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
Thin demand keeps plate prices hovering at lowest levels since February
Participants in the domestic plate market say spot prices appear to have hit the floor, and they continue to linger there. They say demand for steel remains thin, with plate products no exception.
SMU Price Ranges: HR crawls back to $800/ton
SMU’s HR price stands at $800/st on average, up $5/st from last week. The modest gain came as the low end of our range firmed, and despite the high end of our range declining slightly.
SMU successfully completes IOSCO review
SMU has successfully completed an external review of all our prices. The review has concluded that they algin with principles set by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
Domestic plate prices could heat up despite so-so demand, market sources say
Some sources also speculated that plate could see further price increases thanks to modest but steady demand, lower imports, mill maintenance outages, and end markets less immediately affected by tariff-related disruptions.
SMU Price Ranges: HR holds, galv slips amid competing market narratives
SMU’s sheet and plate prices see-sawed this week as hot-rolled (HR) coil prices held their ground while prices for galvanized product slipped.