Steel Products Prices North America

SSAB Ups Ante on Nucor, Evraz; Lifts Plate Prices $80/Ton

Written by Michael Cowden

March 1, 2021

SSAB has increased plate prices by $80 per ton ($4/cwt) for U.S. customers and C$100 per ton for customers in Canada.

The price hike is effective immediately and applies to all new non-contract orders of as-rolled mill plate, cut-to-length plate more than 72 inches wide, hot rolled coils more than 72 inches wide, normalized plate and quenched-and-tempered product, the steelmaker said in letters to customers on Monday, March 1.

SSABSSAB said in addition it would apply published extras, regional freight premiums and a standard “scrap collar” for quotations that require firm pricing over an extended period.

“SSAB Americas reserves the right to re-quote any open offers not confirmed by an SSAB order acknowledgement,” the company said.

SSAB Americas is a subsidiary of Swedish steelmaker SSAB. It operates plate mills in Montpelier, Iowa, and Mobile, Ala.

SSAB’s price increase follows $70-per-ton price hikes announced by Nucor and Evraz last week. SSAB had been expected by market participants to follow its competitors higher this week. It was not immediately clear why SSAB might have taken the previously announced increases and raised the ante by $10 per ton.

Steel Market Update’s average plate price stands at $1,070 per ton, up 5.4% from $1,015 per ton in early February and up 22.3% from $875 per ton at the beginning of the year.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He has since 2014 specialized in flat-rolled steel but has previously reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube as well as aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago - where he was involved in launching AMM's daily hot-rolled coil index, 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.

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