Nucor Opens June, Increases Plate Prices $80-100/ton

The steelmaker’s new base prices for quenched-and-tempered Grade A514 material with a Grade B base is now $1,490 per ton, up from $1,390 per ton in late March.

And Nucor’s new price for normalized A516-70 product is $1,370 per ton, up from $1,270 per ton a month prior.

““We reserve the right to review and requote any offers that are not confirmed with either a Nucor sales acknowledgement or written acceptance by both parties,” the company said in a letter to customers detailing the new prices on Monday, April 26.

SSAB Americas announced a plate price hike of $60 per ton last week.

The two electric-arc furnace (EAF) steelmakers – the leaders in the U.S. plate market along with integrated steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs – have increased plate prices by different amounts for two consecutive months.

Last month Nucor increased plate prices by only $50 per ton after SSAB announced a $100-per-ton price hike.

Mills don’t always announce price hikes of the same amount. But such significant variation is not common in the plate market.

Steel Market Update’s benchmark plate price stood at $1,200 per ton when this article was filed. That figure is an all-time high. It also represents a 5.7% increase from $1,135 per ton a month ago and a 37.1% gain from $875 per ton at the beginning of the year.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com