Steel Mills

Cleveland-Cliffs Ups Sheet, Aims for $800/ton HR Price

Written by Ethan Bernard

October 19, 2023

Cleveland-Cliffs said on Thursday it was targeting a minimum base price for hot-rolled coil of $800 per net ton ($40 per cwt).

The Cleveland-based steelmaker said it was also increasing spot market base prices for all cold-rolled and coated products.

The increases are effective immediately with all new orders, Cliffs said.

The company did not specify the amount of the increase. But its new target price for HRC is $50 per ton higher than the $750/ton HR target it announced in late September.

Cliffs also didn’t specify what new base prices for cold-rolled and coated products might be.

But domestic mills have in recent years sought to keep base prices for cold-rolled and coated products roughly $200 per ton higher than those for hot-rolled.

That would in theory place cold-rolled and coated base prices at $1,000 per ton, up from a prior target of $950 per ton.

Cliffs’ move follows a price increase by Nucor announced earlier in the day.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor also aims to raise sheet prices and to increase base prices for hot-rolled coil to a minimum of of $800 per ton.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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