Cliffs Lifts Sheet Prices, Seeks $1,000/ton HRC

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. said on Tuesday that it had raised minimum base prices for hot-rolled coil (HRC) to $1,000 per ton ($50 per cwt).

Cliffs said the move was effectively immediately and that it had also increased price for cold-rolled and coated products.

The company did not specify the amount of the price hike. It also did not say what its new base prices for cold-rolled and coated might be.

That said, the move represents a $100-per-ton increase compared to the $900-per-ton base the Cleveland-based steelmaker said it was seeking for HRC on Oct. 31, just a week ago.

It also represents a $200-per-ton increase from the $800 per ton Cliffs sought for hot band on Oct. 19, less than a month ago. (SMU’s price increase calendar is helpful for keeping score.)

Domestic mils have been seeking to maintain a $200-per-ton spread between HR base prices and those for CR and coated products. This implies that Cliffs could be seeking as much as $1,100 per ton for tandem products.

HRC prices have not been at or above $1,000 per ton since May, according to our interactive pricing tool.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, 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.