Nucor Increases Discrete Plate Prices by $40 Per Ton

Nucor Corp. is increasing prices for discrete plate by $40 per ton ($2 per cwt), according to letters to customers. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker made the announcement on Wednesday, March 9, along with the opening of its April orderbook for plate.

Nucor

All published adders and extras will also be applied. “We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with either a Nucor sales acknowledgement or written acceptance by both parties,” the company said.

Plate prices have been hovering around $1,820 per ton since mid-January, according to SMU’s interactive pricing tool.

And Nucor had in prior months announced that it was keeping plate prices flat.

But with raw materials prices surging (e.g., pig iron) or expected to surge (e.g., scrap), domestic sheet and plate mills have been either publicly announcing price hikes, quietly rolling them out to individual customers, or preparing the ground for future price hikes.

Costs are sharply higher because of the supply disruptions caused by Russain forces invading Ukraine and the the ensuing war there. Both nations are important in the iron and steel supply chain.

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.