Prices
ArcelorMittal USA Raises Plate Price by $40
Written by Tim Triplett
June 11, 2020
ArcelorMittal USA informed customers today that it has raised the spot base price of all carbon, HSLA, alloy, heat treated, and specialty plate products by a minimum of $40 per ton. The increase takes effect immediately.
This is the latest change to steel plate prices in the past month. SSAB raised its prices by $40 per ton on May 18 and Nucor raised its prices by $50 on May 20.
Steel Market Update’s canvass of the market this week put the current average price for plate at $610 per ton. Plate prices began the year at $710 per ton, but steadily declined to a low of $590 in mid-May, recovering by roughly $20 since the announcements by SSAB and Nucor. Steelmakers have announced increases in both plate and flat rolled prices in the past few weeks in the hopes of capitalizing on rising demand as coronavirus restrictions ease and the economy improves.
Tim Triplett
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Final Thoughts
Most steel buyers think that steel prices will continue to rise into the 2026. But they don’t see the kinds of big gains that have characterized past market upturns, according to the results of SMU’s latest steel market survey.
SMU Survey: Mills less negotiable on spot prices
Most steel buyers responding to our market survey this week reported that domestic mills are considerably less willing to talk price on sheet and plate products than they were in recent weeks.
Price gap between US HRC, most imports narrows slightly
In dollar-per-ton terms, US product is on average $141/st less than landed import prices (inclusive of the 50% tariff). That’s down from $148/st last week.
SMU price ranges: Sheet ticks higher, plate stable
Sheet steel indices increased across the board this week, while plate prices held steady. All five of SMU’s price indices are higher than they were two weeks ago, and all but one are above levels recorded four weeks ago.
Nucor lifts HR spot price by $10/ton
Nucor has raised its weekly spot list price on hot-rolled coil by $10 per short ton (st) after keeping it unchanged since Aug. 25.