• Skip to main content

    Market Segment

    October 30, 2024

    Nucor cuts plate prices by $100/ton, cites market conditions

    Written by David Schollaert

    Nucor Corp. announced that its plate mill group would cut prices for as-rolled, discrete, cut-to-length, and normalized plate with the opening of its December order book.

    The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Tuesday evening, Oct. 29, that tags would be lowered by $100 per short ton (st), bringing its base price to $975/st. That’s the first decrease since it slashed tags by $125/st on July 1.

    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.

    Read more from David Schollaert

    Latest in Market Segment

    SMU Survey: Mill negotiation rates rise on sheet, fall for plate

    Sheet buyers found mills slightly more negotiable on price this week, while plate buyers thought mills were less flexible on spot price tags, according to our latest survey data. Every two weeks, SMU surveys service center and manufacturer buyers to see whether mills will negotiate on new spot sheet and plate orders. In this week’s survey, 14% of respondents said mills were willing to talk price to secure an order, up three percentage points from two weeks earlier (Figure 1). This is the highest reading since July 8, when the rate stood at 18%.

    Court turns to creditor consortium after AHMSA auction bid falls through

    The leading bidder for bankrupt Mexican steelmaker Altos Hornos de Mexico (AHMSA) failed to provide the required earnest money guarantee to confirm its $1.4 billion bid for the steelmaker and its Minera del Norte (MINOSA) mining assets. The court will now consider selling the assets to a consortium of creditors. After the bankruptcy auction on Sept. 25, the court overseeing the proceedings granted the leading bidder, Construcciones e Ingenierías Electromecánicas SA de CV (CIESA), ten days to provide a bid bond of $56.3 million. The Oct. 13 deadline passed without any prequalified bidders, including CIESA, providing the required amount. In fact, the court said CIESA deposited only 5,000 Mexican pesos (US$271).

    Stelco proceeds with layoffs as Ottawa warns of penalties, forced divestiture

    Stelco is proceeding with layoffs at its Hamilton, Ontario, mill despite the Canadian government’s threat of legal action. Last week, Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly had given Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., the owner of Stelco, five days to respond to its call to maintain employment levels at the Canadian mill. Just days earlier, Cliffs announced it would indefinitely idle Stelco's finishing operations and lay off 500 workers. But the government says Cliffs agreed to maintain employment levels as a condition of its 2024 purchase of Stelco.

    AZZ says tight steel availability weighs on Precoat Metals

    AZZ Inc. said galvanized flat-rolled steel availability remains a constraint for its Precoat Metals business, complicating customer sourcing and logistics. Customers are having difficulty securing substrate within required timeframes, and costs remain elevated, President and CEO Tom Ferguson said on an earnings conference call on Wednesday. He said AZZ is helping customers locate domestic and imported material and manage logistics. The situation has “definitely” affected the business, he added. “It’s tight. We see it every day, particularly galvanized sheet metal.”

    Bula leaves steel sector to join startup battery recycler

    Mark Bula is leaving the steel industry, having joined tozero as incoming co-CEO. tozero is a startup lithium-ion battery recycler based in Munich. Bula will serve as co-CEO alongside founder Ksenija Neumann. In August, Bula wrapped up his two-year tenure as CEO of Finland’s Blastr Green Steel. Before that, he served as chief commercial officer at Sweden’s H2 Green Steel and as chief revenue and chief commercial officer at Big River Steel (now part of U.S. Steel).