Steel Products Prices North America

U.S. Steel Raises Flat Rolled Price by $40
Written by Tim Triplett
January 29, 2019
U.S. Steel is the latest mill to announce a price increase. Like Nucor, U.S. Steel notified its sales organization on Monday that its base pricing for all new flat rolled spot orders would increase by a minimum of $40 per net ton, effective immediately.
U.S. Steel’s last price change on flat rolled was also a $40 increase on Oct. 11, 2018. Since U.S. Steel and other major mills announced last October, steel prices have continued to slide. Steel Market Update data shows the average price of hot rolled on Oct. 9, 2018, was around $835 per net ton. The current price is approximately $685 per ton, an 18 percent decline.
West Coast mills California Steel Industries and USS-POSCO Industries were the first to announce $40 price increases on Monday of last week. In the coming weeks, the market will wait anxiously to see if some or all of the new price “sticks.”
Comments to Steel Market Update show a widespread differing of opinion on whether this latest round of price hikes signals a bottom for steel prices. Many are skeptical, while others are hopeful.
“My general feeling is that they will try hard to stick to their guns on this one,” predicted one buyer. “With Nucor’s announcement and U.S. Steel following suit, the rest of the market will join in and at least stop the bleeding.”
 
			    			
			    		Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
 
		                                September Import Share of US Sheet and Plate Markets
Imported sheet and plate products arrived at US ports at a slower clip in September, accounting for a lower share of the domestic market for the third straight month. That’s according to a Steel Market Update analysis of import data from the US Commerce Department and domestic shipment figures from the American Iron and Steel […]
 
		                                US Apparent Steel Supply Falls Further in September
US apparent steel supply eased further in September, down 8% from August to 8.29 million net tons, according to data from the US Department of Commerce and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). As the lowest monthly figure since February 2021, this was a 19-month low. September supply was 10% below the average monthly rate […]
 
		                                Northwest Pipe Reports Sharply Higher Q3 Results
Engineered pipe and tube producer Northwest Pipe Co. posted sharply higher profits for the third quarter ended Sept. 30. The Vancouver, Wash.-based company said the boost was driven by strong demand and increasing backlogs from its engineered pipeline systems and precast products, according to earnings data released on Tuesday, Nov. 8 All told, Northwest Pipe posted net […]
 
		                                SMU Price Ranges: Flat-Rolled Steel Falls (Yet Again)
Sheet prices fell across the board again this week as the slow grind lower that we’ve seen since last spring continued to gain speed. Hot-rolled coil prices fell $30 per ton ($1.50 per cwt) week-over-week. Declines in coated products were more pronounced, with cold rolled down $55 per ton, galvanized down $35 per ton, and […]
 
		                                US Steel Exports Slip 10% in September
US steel export volumes shrunk 10% from August to September, according to the latest US Commerce Department data. 723,000 net tons of steel products exited the country during the month, now the fourth-lowest monthly export rate over the past year and a half. Recall that exports levels in August were at the third-highest monthly rate […]
