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    June 21, 2021

    SSAB Up $100/ton on Spot Plate Prices

    Written by Michael Cowden

    SSAB Americas aims to increase steel plate prices by at least $100 per ton ($5/cwt) effective immediately on all new spot orders.

    The increase applies equally to as-rolled mill plate and coil, cut-to-length plate, normalized plate, and quenched-and-tempered plate, the company said in a letter to customers on Monday, June 21.

    steel plate“In addition to this announcement, August pricing will be finalized when we open the month for order entry,” SSAB said.

    Published extras and regional freight premiums will continue to be applied, the company added.

    The price hike is $125 CAD per ton for customers in Canada, according to a separate letter sent to SSAB Canadian customers.

    SSAB’s move was a leading one, and other plate mills are likely to follow, market participants said.

    SSAB also increased prices by $100 per ton last month. And plate prices, along with sheet prices, have seen astronomical gains this year and continue to test new record highs.

    SMU’s benchmark plate price stood at $1,435 per ton ($71.75/cwt) when this article was filed. That’s up 64% from $875 per ton at the beginning of the year and more than double a 2020 low of $590 per ton recorded in August of last year, per SMU pricing archives.

    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.

    Read more from Michael Cowden

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