Steel Mills
US Steel Piles in With Nucor, Cliffs in Hiking Sheet Prices $100/ton
Written by Michael Cowden
February 21, 2023
US Steel has joined competitors Nucor and Cleveland-Cliffs in raising base prices for steel sheet by at least $100 per ton ($5 per cwt).
The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker said the price hike was effective immediately for all new spot orders in a letter to top sales staff dated Tuesday, Feb. 21.
The company said the increases were also being implemented at its Big River Steel electric-arc furnace sheet mill in Arkansas and at its USS-UPI operations in California.
“Pricing extras, as published on our websites, and fuel surcharges must continue to be fully applied,” US Steel said in the letter, which was signed by chief commercial officer Ken Jaycox.
The price hike by US Steel means that three of the four largest domestic sheet mills have announced price increases totaling $200 per ton since the beginning of the month.
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), the fourth, does not typically announce price hikes publicly.
Nucor and Cliffs announced a target price of $1,000 per ton for hot-rolled coil (HRC). US Steel did not announce a target price.
HRC prices have not been at or above $1,000 per ton since late June of last year, when they were falling on their way to a 2022 low of $615 per ton in November, according to SMU’s pricing tool.
By Michael Cowden, michael@steelmarketupdate.com
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills
USW seeks clarity on plans for Granite City Works
The United Steelworkers union has asked U.S. Steel to elaborate on its Granite City Works plans following reports that the steelmaker is ending processing at the facility.
Nucor maintains plate prices, opens October order book
Nucor aims to keep plate prices flat for a seventh straight month with the opening of its October order book.
ArcelorMittal Mexico to import from sister mills as it works to resume DRI production
ArcelorMittal has partially restarted operations at its direct reduction plant in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan. An explosion on Aug. 18 rocked the massive steelworks on Mexico’s Pacific coast, impacting production of direct-reduced iron (DRI).
Fall maintenance outages are coming in hot
Labor Day has passed, the sun is starting to set a little earlier each day, and cooler weather has begun to find its way down to many of us across North America. And you know what that means for the steel industry… Fall maintenance outages!
AISI: Domestic steel production ticks up
US raw steel production ticked up in the week ending on Sept. 6 after a decrease the week before, according to the most recent data from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI).