Steel Products

Plate Increase Announced, Will Flat Rolled be Next?
Written by John Packard
February 15, 2018
Flat rolled and plate steel prices have been on the rise and are expected to continue climbing in the coming weeks. Yesterday, Nucor announced a new $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt) base price increase on plate. Steel Market Update anticipates flat rolled sheet prices will soon follow.
With the latest Nucor announcement on plate the total amount of the increases is $280 per ton ($14.00/cwt) since Nov. 1, 2017. Other plate mills are expected to follow the Nucor lead.
The current “up” cycle on sheet (HR, CR, galvanized and Galvalume) began nearly four months ago. According to the Steel Market Update hot rolled index, HRC prices bottomed in mid-October 2017 at $580 per ton ($29.00/cwt) FOB domestic steel mills east of the Rocky Mountains.
The first Nucor price increase in the cycle was a $30 per ton increase announced Nov. 15. Since then there have been three more price announcements totaling another $90 per ton ($120 per ton total). The SMU hot rolled average has increased to $745 per ton ($37.25/cwt) as of the week of Feb. 13, 2018. This is very close to the ArcelorMittal USA minimum base price guidance of $750 per ton provided in their last increase announcement.
We expect flat rolled prices will be increased very soon. We are already hearing from buyers of steel mills taking prices up prior to making any new announcements. The question is by how much. Since hot roll is already reaching the numbers guided by AMUSA, and the fact that a plate price increase was just announced at $50 per ton, HR buyers should expect a $40 to $60 per ton increase, in SMU’s opinion.
The last time hot rolled coil prices reached an average of $745 per ton was in mid-January 2012 (that was the peak price in that cycle, and prices fell over the next six months to $600 per ton).
How high can prices go? The SMU HRC steel index hit $890 per ton in late March 2011…
For more historical price information please go to our website, login and click on the prices tab. If you have not used our interactive pricing graph on the website and you would like help, there is a video tutorial on the right side of the steel prices page. If you still need help, contact Brett@SteelMarketUpdate.com

John Packard
Read more from John PackardLatest in Steel Products

Nucor keeps HRC price unchanged
Nucor paused its weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price this week, keeping it flat for the first time since Jan. 21. This comes after a nine-week rally that saw the company increase prices by double-digits for eight of those weeks.

Nucor increases plate prices by $40/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $40 per short ton (st) with the opening of its May order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the increase was effective with new orders received on Friday, March 28, in a letter to customers dated the same day. The company said the price hike applied […]

US CRC price gains ground over imports
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices increased again this week, while offshore prices declined.

SMU Steel Demand Index momentum slows
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. Contact info@steelmarketupdate.com for information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription. Growth in SMU’s Steel Demand Index eased in March after reaching a four-year high in late February. Despite a moderate gain, the index remains in expansion territory. The Steel Demand […]

Leibowitz: Impact of tariffs on US manufacturers
On February 10, President Trump announced a massive restructuring of tariffs on steel and aluminum. Those changes took effect on March 12, and they will impact US manufacturing. What will the impact be? Bye-bye exclusions Perhaps the most important change, which hits imports from all countries, is the loss of a product exclusion process to […]