Steel Products Prices North America

U.S. Steel, NLMK, UPI Follow with $40 Price Hikes
Written by Tim Triplett
July 11, 2019
As widely expected, U.S. Steel, NLMK USA and USS-POSCO Industries notified customers Wednesday that they have increased flat rolled steel prices by $40 per ton, following on similar announcements by Nucor and ArcelorMittal the day before. All total, U.S. steelmakers have raised prices for hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized steels by $80 per ton in the past two weeks in the hopes of reversing a slide that has cut 40 percent from the price of their products over the past year.
In its initial price change two weeks ago, NLMK published minimums of $560 per ton for hot rolled and $700 for cold rolled and coated products. Adding the latest $40 increase raises the market price NLMK (and the other mills) hope to collect up to $600 for HR and $740 for CR and galvanized steel.
Steel Market Update’s latest data collected this week places the current benchmark price for hot rolled at $535 per ton, cold rolled at $700 and galvanized at $710. So, the mills have a ways to go if they hope to collect the full increase. It appears they’ve already made some headway, however. SMU data shows the current average market price is up $15 from last week. Whether this marks the turnaround point for steel prices depends on how well the market accepts the latest price hikes in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, SMU’s Price Momentum Indicator will remain at Neutral until the market establishes a clear direction.

Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products Prices North America

Nucor maintains plate prices, opens August order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat again with the opening of its August order book.

Nucor CSP remains level at $900/ton
Nucor maintained its weekly list price for hot-rolled (HR) coil this week, following two consecutive increases.

Cliffs raises prices, seeks $950/ton for July spot HR
Cleveland-Cliffs plans to increase prices for hot-rolled (HR) coil to $950 per short ton (st) with the opening of its July spot order book. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the price hike was effective immediately in a letter to customers dated Monday.

HRC vs. prime scrap spread widens in June
The price spread between HRC and prime scrap widened in June.

SMU price ranges: Steel prices rise in response to tariffs
Steel prices climbed for a second straight week across all five sheet and plate products tracked by SMU.