Prices
November 22, 2022
Written by Michael Cowden
SMU’s sheet prices slipped again this week. But some market participants predicted that sheet was at or near a bottom.
The anticipation of that bottom appeared to pull some big buyers off the sidelines. Large purchases from some pulled the low end of our hot-rolled coil range below $600 per ton ($30 per cwt) and the low end of our cold rolled and galvanized range below $800 per ton.
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.
Nucor said on Monday, Sept. 21, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,210 per short ton (st) this week, a $10/st increase from a week earlier.
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.
SSAB Americas announced immediate changes to pricing extras on select products, according to a letter sent to customers Friday morning.
Nucor Plate Group said it will be increasing its fuel surcharge to $20 per short ton for next month, effective on all shipments beginning Oct. 1.