Steel Products Prices North America

Nucor Aims to Increase Sheet Prices by $50 per Ton

Written by Michael Cowden

January 9, 2023

Nucor plans to increase base prices for all new orders of steel sheet by $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt).

The price hike is effective immediately, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday, Jan. 9.

arrow up“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 the letter.

Nucor’s move comes after Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced a price hike of the same amount in mid-December.

NLMK USA and ArcelorMittal followed that increase. Other major steelmakers, notably Nucor and US Steel, did not. (Note: Steel Dynamics Inc. does not typically announce price increases.)

But some market participants had expected another round of mill price-increase announcements linked to higher January scrap costs.

SMU’s hot-rolled coil price currently stands at $695 per ton ($34.75 per cwt), up 13% ($80 per ton) from a 2022 low $615 per ton recorded before Thanksgiving.

Mills began announcing sheet price increases the following week, and prices have been on an upswing since then.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He has since 2014 specialized in flat-rolled steel but has previously reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube as well as aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago - where he was involved in launching AMM's daily hot-rolled coil index, 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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