Futures
ArcelorMittal Mills in US, Canada Join Sheet Price Hikes
Written by Michael Cowden
December 16, 2022
ArcelorMittal has joined the effort initiated by Cleveland-Cliffs to increase spot prices for steel sheet by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt).
The move is effective immediately for material from AM/NS Calvert, the steelmaker’s joint venture mill in Alabama with Japan’s Nippon Steel.
“We reserve the right to modify any outstanding quotations,” the company said in a letter to its commercial team on Thursday, Dec. 15.
ArcelorMittal did not specify target bases prices in this announcement. But the company specified $700 per ton for hot-rolled coil and $950 per ton for cold-rolled and coated products in a prior price increase announcement. That suggests the company is now seeking $750 per ton for hot-rolled coil and $1,000 per ton for cold-rolled and coated product.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco also raised prices. The multinational steelmaker’s sheet mill in Hamilton, Ontario, increased prices by Canadian $70 per ton. Dofasco, like Calvert, said that the increase was effective immediately for spot prices for all new orders of hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated products.
“We will continue to monitor the marketplace and will respond accordingly with competitively priced product,” Dofasco said in a memo to its sales and marketing employees.
Recall that domestic mills announced a round of $60-per-ton sheet price increases the week after Thanksgiving. Several producers initiated a second wave of hikes, of $50 per ton, during the week of Dec. 12.
SMU’s benchmark hot-rolled coil prices have risen steadily since that initial round was announced. Our hot-rolled coil price stands at $670 per ton, up $30 per ton from $640 a week prior and up $55 per ton from $615 per ton before Thanksgiving.
It appears likely that $615 per ton will prove to be the low point for 2022. That figure is almost $1,000 per ton below the $1,600-per-ton level where HRC prices started the year, according to our interactive price tool.
Cleveland-Cliffs is targeting $750-per-ton HRC with its latest price hike. And Q1 HRC futures prices were trading at or above $800 per ton on Friday afternoon, according to CME Group data. It’s important to note, however, that steel futures are not a forecast.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Michael Cowden
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