Steel Prices

Nucor lowers HRC price to $900/ton

May 12, 2025

Nucor lowered its weekly spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil for a second straight week, down $10 per short ton (st), after keeping it in a holding pattern for most of April.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker notified customers in a letter on Monday that this week’s base consumer spot price (CSP) for HR coil will be $900/st.

It marks Nucor’s only third price cut year to date, and only its second double-digit cut in six months.

SMU’s May 6 check of the market revealed HR coil prices to be in the range of $820-930/st, with an average of $875/st. Members can track prices for steel sheet and plate using the Interactive Pricing Tool on our website.

Nucor’s letter noted that it will continue offering 3-5 week lead times for HR spot purchases.

SMU’s survey last week showed lead times of 3-6 weeks for HR coil in the wider market, with an average of 5.1 weeks.

West Coast CSP

Nucor also lowered the CSP for HR coil from its West Coast joint-venture subsidiary, California Steel Industries (CSI), by $10/st from last week to $960/st.

SMU members can also view historical flat-rolled and plate price announcements on our steel mill price announcement calendar.

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.