Plate Report: Spread Over HRC Fades, New Increases Coming?

US plate prices have remained mostly flat this week, a trend we’ve seen since Nucor announced a plate price cut in late November.

Recall that in late November, Nucor said it would be lowering plate prices by $140 per ton ($7 per cwt) with the opening of its January order book. Plate tags have varied little since, by just $20 per ton on average. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker has updated customers twice more since then, keeping prices unchanged.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.