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
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