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    June 23, 2021

    Nucor Opens August Plate Book, Lifts Prices $120/ton

    Written by Michael Cowden

    Nucor has increased base prices for steel plate by at least $120 per ton ($6/cwt) along with the opening of its August order book.

    The new, higher prices are effective immediately and will be collected along with published freight and extras, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said.

    NucorNucor’s new ex-works base price for cut-to-length A36 plate is $1,440 per ton ($72/cwt), up from $1,320 per ton last month, according to letters to customers dated Wednesday, June 23.

    The steelmaker’s new base prices for quenched-and-tempered Grade A514 material with a Grade B base is now $1,760 per ton, up from $1,640 per ton in May.

    And Nucor’s new price for normalized A516-70 product is $1,640 per ton, up from $1,520 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 its letter to customers.

    Nucor’s plate price hike comes after competitor SSAB this week increased prices by a combined $150 per ton.

    SMU’s benchmark plate price stands at $1,495 per ton ($74.75/cwt), up nearly 71% from $875 per ton at the beginning of the year and more than double $590 per ton in August 2020, when both sheet and coil prices bottomed out.

    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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