Steel Products Prices North America

Mills Announce Another Increase on Plate

September 10, 2020

Mills raised plate prices by an additional $40-50 per ton ($2-2.50/cwt) on Monday and Tuesday, the second increase in the past five weeks and the fourth round of increases since May. Plate prices have lagged the increases in flat rolled as plate demand is more dependent on the infrastructure, commercial construction and energy markets, which are among the slower to recover from the pandemic.

ArcelorMittal USA notified customers that it will increase transaction prices on all new non-contractual orders of carbon, HSLA, alloy, heat-treated and specialty plate products by $40 per ton, effective immediately.

In a letter to customers on Monday, SSAB Americas said it is increasing transaction prices by a minimum of $50 per ton effective for all new non-contract orders. The increase applies to As-Rolled Mill Plate, Cut-To-Length Plate >72”, Hot Rolled Coils >72”, Normalized Plate and Quenched & Tempered Plate. All published extras and all regional freight premiums will continue to be applied.

On Tuesday, Nucor’s Plate Group announced a new minimum base price for its plate products, “reflecting continued changes in input costs and changing market dynamics.” Effective immediately, Nucor’s new minimum base price is $31.50/cwt, freight included. This price is for discrete/CTL plate, grade A36, up to 2” thick, in widths of 72”, 84”, 96” or 120”. Any published extras will be applied to this base price as warranted.

The price of plate declined from more than $700 per ton in January to $590 per ton in May after the coronavirus hit the economy. May price increases caused a small uptick, but it proved only temporary, with the price sliding back to $590 in August. Since mid-August, the average plate price has gained some traction, improving to $635 per ton, according to Steel Market Update’s check of the market this week, slightly above Nucor’s new minimum.