Steel Mills

Nucor Looks to Raise Sheet Prices by $125/ton

March 16, 2022

Nucor aims to increase base prices for steel sheet by at least $125 per ton ($6.25 per cwt) effective immediately.

“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 in a letter to customers dated Wednesday, March 16.

Nucor

The latest price hike comes after the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker raised price by $100 per ton on March 7 and by $50 per ton on Feb. 25.

The result: North America’s largest steelmaker has announced sheet price hikes of a combined $275 per ton in less than a month.

Higher prices stem in large part from supply disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine, which began after Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24. Raw material prices have also risen sharply.

Case in point: SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price jumped to $1,260 per ton this week ($63 per cwt), up $210 per ton (20%) from $1,050 per ton last week. That was the biggest week-over-week gain we’ve ever recorded – and by a wide margin too.

While some buyers think it is only a matter of time before hot-rolled coil prices hit $1,400-1,500 per ton, others question whether such dramatically higher prices are sustainable.

There are also some indications there is not the same level of panic buying that there was in the first half of last year – another period of skyrocketing steel prices.

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.