Steel Mills

SSAB Increases Plate Prices by $50/ton, Maintains RMS

Written by Michael Cowden

May 9, 2022

SSAB Americas aims to increase plate prices by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt) effective immediately on all non-contract orders confirmed to ship on or after July 3.

The Mobile, Ala-based steelmaker said the price hike would be $65 per ton CAD for customers in Canada.

SSAB

The increase applies equally to as-rolled, normalized, quenched-and-tempered, and wide cut-to-length products, the company said in letters to customers dated Monday, May 9.

The latest price hike will come in addition to a July raw material surcharge (RMS) scheduled to be announced on Thursday, June 16.

SSAB implemented a raw materials surcharge, or RMS, in March.

The company said published extras and regional freight premiums would also be collected.

SSAB last increased plate prices in April. The May increase is notable in part because the amount of the price hike is the same across all plate products.

In April, in contrast, the company announced a $100-per-ton price hike for Q&T and a $60-per-ton increase for all other products.

SSAB Americas is a subsidiary of Swedish steelmaker SSAB. The company operates plate mills in Mobile and in Montpelier, Iowa.

Plate prices averaged at $1,903 per ton in April, up 3.6% from $1,837 per ton in March and up 5.4% from $1,805 per ton in February, according to SMU’s interactive pricing tool.

Domestic sheet prices have been trending down in recent weeks. Plate to date has bucked that trend.

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.

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