Steel Products Prices North America

Cliffs/AMUSA Increases Plate Base Price to $900 EXW
Written by Tim Triplett
December 17, 2020
ArcelorMittal USA notified customers on Wednesday that it is increasing its base pricing for plate to a minimum of $900 per ton “in order to capture escalating costs and to restore the market value for steel plate products.”
Now owned by Cleveland-Cliffs, ArcelorMittal USA no longer quotes delivered prices but rather the price ex works the mill, mirroring a similar change by competitor Nucor Plate Group.
Effective immediately, ArcelorMittal USA’s minimum base prices for plate products sold FOB Producing Mill, freight collect, are:
• As Rolled, A36 Grade base: $900/ton ($45/cwt).
• A516 Grade 70 Normalized Grade base: $1,030/ton ($51.50/cwt).
• Alloy, Q&T A514B Grade base: $1,150/ton ($57.50/cwt).
All prepaid shipments will be sold FOB Producing Mill with applicable net freight charges and fuel surcharges added to these minimum base prices, the company said. All published book extras will be applied. There is an additional $20/ton ($1/cwt) charge for products sold out of the East Depots.
ArcelorMittal USA said its February order books are closed except for remaining Sales Plan volumes. Its plate order books are now open for March shipments for heat treated products only, with the opening of as-rolled products to be announced soon.
On Monday, Nucor announced a new minimum base price for as-rolled discrete/CTL grade A36 plate of $40/cwt or $800 per ton, EXW the mill, which represented an increase of $80 per ton over its previous base price.
Some service center and OEM executives are displeased with the change to EXW pricing by Cliffs/AMUSA and Nucor, which shifts freight cost to buyers. “They are introducing some chaos where none was needed,” said one source. “There were other ways to address their low pricing and freight concerns. Their competitors are likely to handle them in a way that isn’t frustrating to customers and difficult to manage—or even tell what the pricing is.”

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

CRU: Q3 will be the lowest point in current sheet price cycle
CRU Principal Analyst Shankhadeep Mukherjee expects a restocking cycle for steel sheet products in most parts of the world due to either low inventories or seasonally stronger demand.

CRU: US rebar and wire rod prices rise alongside S232 increase
CRU Senior Steel Analyst Alexandra Anderson discusses current market and pricing dynamics for long steel products in the US.

SMU Price Ranges: Sheet and plate steady ahead of Independence Day
Sheet and plate prices were little changed in the shortened week ahead of Independence Day, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.

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.