Plate
September 20, 2022
Nucor Drops Discrete Plate Prices $120/Ton, CTL Sizes Flat
Written by David Schollaert
Nucor Corp. is significantly lowering plate prices effective immediately, largely impacting its November plate order book.
Latest in Plate
SMU Price Ranges: HR inches toward $1,300/ton as spot squeeze continues
Sheet and plate prices continued to tick mostly higher this week amid a supply squeeze that shows no signs of loosening its grip on the US market.
Fall outages squeeze already tight US plate market
The current plate market squeeze has been driven by improved demand and heightened import barriers, including 50% Section 232 tariffs. But the timing of fall outages—even if they were planned—is exacerbating the supply crunch.
SMU Survey: Tight US flat-rolled market boosts buyer interest in foreign steel
SMU’s latest Flat-Rolled Steel Buyers Survey shows that in a tight US market marked by long lead times, low inventories, and rising prices, foreign products continue to gain the interest of domestic buyers.
AISI: US production retreats after early September surge
Domestic raw steel output fell to a six-month low last week after hitting a multi-year high one week earlier, according to the latest American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) figures.
Plate supply squeeze tightens as demand presses higher
The domestic plate market is showing few signs of relief for steel buyers. Lead times are stretching well beyond seasonal norms, spot availability has all but evaporated, and mills are drawing hard lines on contract volumes heading into 2027 negotiations. And the supply squeeze will likely intensify in a market that some industry sources say is structurally undersupplied because of stringent US trade and tariff policies. Imports have been arriving in larger volumes, and the expectation is they will continue to tick higher into 2027. The big question is whether those foreign tons will arrive in volumes sufficient to provide the relief steel consumers want.