Steel Products Prices North America
Flat Rolled Mills Join in on $40 Price Increase
Written by Tim Triplett
October 27, 2019
Four more mills–Nucor, U.S. Steel, USS-Posco and Algoma Steel–raised prices on their flat rolled products by $40 per ton ($2/cwt) Friday, following on similar announcements by ArcelorMittal and NLMK USA the day before. The mills are hoping to reverse the slide that has taken the benchmark price of hot rolled steel from more than $700 per ton to less than $500 per ton since the beginning of the year.
Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group informed customers Friday that the base price of its hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products would increase by $40 per ton, effective immediately.
U.S. Steel notified its North American Flat-Rolled Sales Organization Friday that base pricing for new spot orders of all flat rolled products would increase by a minimum of $40 per net ton. Pricing extras, as published, continue to apply.
USS-POSCO Industries (UPI) also added $40 to the base price for its hot rolled P&O, cold rolled and galvanized steel on Friday.
Likewise, Algoma Steel notified customers in the U.S. Friday of the Canadian mill’s intent to raise the spot price of its hot rolled and cold rolled sheet products by $40 per net ton (U.S.).
The price hike by the major flat rolled mills, the first since late July, was widely anticipated in the marketplace and welcomed by most service centers who have seen the value of their inventories and profit margins erode. Even with the support of the distributors, it remains to be seen how much of the increase the mills will manage to collect, and for how long. Similar increases earlier this year produced only small, temporary bumps in spot steel prices.
Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products Prices North America
CRU: Longs pricing trends diverge in North, South America
Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]
Nucor cuts plate prices by $125/ton, cites ongoing competition
Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, and normalized plate with the opening of its August order book.
Nucor cuts HR price for fourth straight week
Nucor lowered its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil by another $10 per short ton (st) for the first week of July. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday that its CSP base price for the week will be $670/st for all of its sheet mills with the exception of California Steel Industries (CSI).
Cliffs sets $720/ton HR price with opening of August books
Cleveland-Cliffs on Tuesday announced its monthly hot-rolled (HR) coil price of $720 per short ton (st) with the official opening of its August order book. The rate is down from last month’s price of $800/st.
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]