Nucor increases plate prices by $160/ton

The company said the price hike applied equally to carbon, normalized, and quenched-and-tempered products.

“We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with either a Nucor sales acknowledgement or written acceptance by both parties,” the company said in the letter.

Nucor’s $160/st plate price hike comes after the company increased plate prices by $60/st in both early February and late January. All told, Nucor has increased plate price by $280/st in less than a month, according to SMU’s mill price announcement calendar.

Nucor’s price hike also comes after SSAB Americas – another of the major US plate producers – increased plate prices by $100/st last week. SSAB has increased prices by $240/st over the last month.

Flat-rolled steel prices more broadly speaking have surged higher in recent weeks on higher scrap and pig iron costs as well as the threat of Section 232 tariffs of 25% being applied to all imported steel effective March 12.

The Trump administration has also threated to impose blanket tariffs of 25% on nearly all imports from Canada and Mexico effective March 4.