Steel Prices
Nucor plans to post weekly spot HR price beginning April 8
Written by Michael Cowden
April 4, 2024
Nucor plans to publish a weekly spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil beginning on Monday, April 8, according to a press release and letters to customers.
The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said its published HR price would be derived from “both quantitative and qualitative data” in the letter to customers on Thursday, April 4.
The company said it would from April 8 forward update the price every Monday at 10 am ET on its website. The price would be valid from one Monday until the next.
Nucor added that it would also offer lead times for all spot HR orders between three and five weeks “to assist customers with their planning.”
“We are constantly looking for better ways to serve our customers, not only with quality products and services, but also with timely information that will help them make informed decisions for their businesses,” Rex Query, Nucor’s EVP of sheet products, said in the release.
The move marks a stark break from traditional mill sheet pricing practices. US mills might publish target prices when they announce increases. But they rarely communicate spot prices otherwise.
It is too early to tell whether a mill-published price will gain traction in the broader spot market.
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Prices
SMU price ranges: Sheet down broadly, HR $35/t lower
Sheet prices fell across the board this week – largely in response to Nucor’s $65-per-short-ton price cut for hot-rolled (HR) coil on Monday morning. SMU’s HR coil price is $780/st on average, a $35/st decrease week over week (w/w). Our average cold-rolled coil price is $1,090/st (down $30/st w/w). Our galvanized base price is $1,100/st […]
HR futures: Nucor’s price cut makes its mark on steel markets
When we were asked to provide some additional commentary to SMU about the futures markets for flat rolled, our only reluctance to contribute was rooted merely in the fact that SMU (1) already offers an excellent array of authors on this topic and (2) a concern regarding what new ground could be covered that hasn’t already been discussed to death on this issue. Thankfully, however, Nucor has offered up something we can describe, without hyperbole, as simply revolutionary for spot pricing in flat rolled - a development that we simply could not resist commenting on with respect to its probable impacts on the futures market.
Nucor surprises with $65/ton price drop for HRC
Nucor started off May with a bang, dropping its weekly base spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil by $65 per short ton (st) this week.
US CR tags slip, still more than 25% above imports
Foreign cold-rolled (CR) coil remains much less expensive than domestic product even as domestic prices continue to decline, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.
HRC futures: Still waiting for clarity
“One thing we know for certain, however, is that when we write our next column, things will have certainly shaken loose.” – Daniel Doderer, April 4, 2024. Above is a good reminder that whenever someone is “certain” of anything, you should probably look at that line of thinking with a healthy dose of skepticism.