Steel Mills

Nucor Increases HSS Prices $50/Ton
Written by Michael Cowden
February 19, 2021
Nucor’s tubular products group has increased prices for hollow structural sections (HSS), pipe, mechanical and piling products by $50 per ton ($2.50/cwt).
The move is effective immediately and is necessary because of “rising raw material costs, strong demand, and volatile transportation costs,” Nucor said in a Feb. 19 letter to customers.
Orders booked prior to the announcement will be protected at the pre-increase price through March 19 shipments, the steelmaker said.
“New orders, quotes and contracts not previously confirmed by Nucor will be subject to this increase,” the company said.
The move comes after several domestic flat-rolled mills increased prices earlier this week. But those increases were largely done in the absence of official price announcement letters on company letterhead.
Steel Market Update does not price tubular products such as HSS. But the price for hot-rolled coil, the substrate used to make welded pipe and tube, is at an all-time high.
SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price stands at $1,200 per ton ($60/cwt), up 11.1% from $1,080 per ton in mid-January and up 172.2% from a 2020 low, recorded in August, of $440 per ton.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills

USW seeks clarity on USS plans for Granite City Works
The United Steelworkers union has asked U.S. Steel to elaborate on its Granite City Works plans following reports that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility.

Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.

ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).

Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!

AISI: Domestic steel production ticks up
US raw steel production ticked up in the week ending on Sept. 6 after a decrease the week before, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).