Steel Products Prices North America

Nucor, SSAB Lift Plate Prices $100 Per Ton or More

January 5, 2021

Nucor and SSAB Americas have raised plate prices sharply higher to ring in the New Year.

Effective immediately, Nucor’s new ex-works base price for cut-to-length grade A36 plate is $940 per ton ($47/cwt), up $140 per ton from $800 per ton on Dec. 14, according to letters to customers dated Tuesday, Jan. 5.

The new base price for quenched-and-tempered A514 Grade is $1,190 per ton, up from $1,050 per ton in December. And Nucor’s new base price for normalized A516-70 material is $1,070 per ton, up from $940 per ton last month.

“All published adders/extras will be applied,” Nucor said in the letter. The steelmaker also said that it was not yet accepting orders for March.

SSAB, meanwhile, aims to increase plate prices by at least $100 per ton ($5/cwt) on all new non-contract orders.

The move is effective immediately and applies equally to as-rolled mill plate, to cut-to-length plate more than 72 inches wide, to hot-rolled coils more than 72 inches wide, as well as to normalized and quenched-and-tempered material, the company said in its letter to customers Tuesday.

The price hike also coincides with SSAB opening its February orderbook for spot orders. March is still closed for non-contract business, the company said.

“As always, SSAB Americas remains committed to providing a superior product offering at a competitive market prices,” the letter said.

The increases mark the second time in less than a month that SSAB and Nucor have increased plate prices. SSAB, for example, on Dec. 15 announced a plate price hike of $100 per ton.

The sharp plate price increases come on the heels of steep gains in hot-rolled coil prices, a significantly higher December scrap settlement, and amid expectations that scrap will settle higher in January as well.

By Michael Cowden, michael@steelmarketupdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.