SSAB Increases Plate Prices $100/Ton

The latest price hike means SSAB has increased plate prices by $180 per ton in less than a month. The steelmaker on March 1 rolled out a price increase of $80 per ton.

SSAB said it would also be applying a “standard scrap collar” to “quotations that require firm pricing for an extended period of time.” The company in addition said it would be charging product and freight extras.

A scrap collar works like this: Let’s say a buyer and a steel mill have agreed to a plate price of $1,000 per ton, and the scrap collar is set at $400-500 per ton. If scrap stays within that range, the price a buyer has agreed to pay a mill remains unchanged. If scrap goes higher than that range, then the buyer pays every dollar the scrap price exceeds the collar. On the contrary, if scrap were to fall below the bottom limit of the collar, then the buyer would receive a dollar-for-dollar deduction.

Plate prices, like those for other flat-rolled products, have marched steadily higher since the beginning of the year.

Steel Market Update’s average plate price stands at $1,135 per ton, up 6.1% from $1,070 per ton a month ago and up 29.7% from $875 per ton at the beginning of the year.

Despite those gains, plate prices remain below hot-rolled coil tags, the inverse of what is the case in a typical market.

SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price is at $1,315 per ton – an all-time high.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com