Steel Mills

ArcelorMittal and NLMK Follow Major Sheet Mills, Increase Prices $50/ton

February 14, 2023

ArcelorMittal and NLMK USA have followed three major domestic steelmakers in increasing sheet prices by at least $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt).

Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal said it was targeting a minimum base price of $900 per ton effective immediately, echoing moves first announced by Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs.

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“The increase is applicable to all new spot orders and all recent quotations that have not yet been accepted,” the steelmaker said in a letter addressed to its commercial team on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

ArcelorMittal also said it would close its March order book for hot-rolled products on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The company said it was already accepting orders for April for tandem products.

NLMK USA said its price hike was effective immediately for all new spot orders in a letter to customers on Monday, Feb. 13.

“Orders received and not yet confirmed are subject to this increase,” the steelmaker added.

NLMK USA did not announce a target base price for hot-rolled coil. But the steelmaker said in early February that it was targeting $875 per ton HRC – which would in theory put its current spot prices at $925 per ton.

Recall that Nucor started the wave of $50-per-ton sheet price hikes on Monday morning. It was followed in short order by two other major domestic sheet mills – Cleveland-Cliffs and US Steel.

What about Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), the fourth major US sheet mill? Recall that SDI doesn’t typically announce sheet price increases via press release or on company letterhead.

ArcelorMittal is one of the largest steelmakers in the world. But its US footprint is smaller since the sale of the former ArcelorMittal USA to Cliffs in 2020.

That said, the company continues to have a significant presence in the domestic market in large part via its AM/NS Calvert sheet mill in Alabama. The facility, a joint venture with Japan’s Nippon Steel, has annual capacity of 5.3 million tons, according to the company’s website.

NLMK USA operates an electric-arc furnace (EAF) steel mill in Portage, Ind., a hot-strip mill and cold-reduction mill in Farrell, Pa., and a galvanizing facility in Sharon, Pa. The Portage mill has a capacity of 800,000 tons per year.

While it is a smaller company compared to its larger peers, NLMK USA is an important player in the spot market.

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.