Steel Mills

Nucor Increases Plate Prices $80-200/ton in Leading Move

Written by Michael Cowden

September 22, 2021

Nucor, in a leading move, announced that it was increasing plate prices along with the opening of its November order book.

The price hike is $80 per ton ($4/cwt) for A36 plate and normalized product, and it is $200 per ton ($10/cwt) for quenched-and-tempered material.

steel plateThe increase – announced on Wednesday, Sept. 22 – marks at least the fifth consecutive month that the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker, the largest in the U.S., has announced substantial price hikes.

Nucor’s new ex-works base price for cut-to-length A36 plate is $1,725 per ton ($86.25/cwt), up from $1,645 per ton last month, according to letters to customers.

The steelmaker’s new price for normalized A516-70 product is $1,925 per ton ($96.25/cwt), up from $1,845 per ton a month prior.

And Nucor’s new base price for quenched-and-tempered Grade A514 material with a Grade B base is now $2,285 per ton ($114.25/cwt), up from $2,085 per ton in July.

The new, higher prices are effective immediately and will be collected along with published extras. “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.

Other plate mills will probably follow Nucor and announce higher prices as well, market participants said.

SMU’s benchmark plate price stands at $1,740 per ton ($87/per cwt), down $5 per ton from a week earlier but $70 per ton higher than $1,670 per ton a month ago, according to SMU’s interactive price tool.

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

Latest in Steel Mills