Steel Prices

Nucor increases plate prices by $60/ton

September 30, 2025

Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $60 per short ton (st) with the opening of its November order book.

In a letter to customers Monday evening, the Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the price hike was effective with all new orders not confirmed by the close of business on Sept. 29.

The move comes just two weeks after Nucor said it would maintain plate prices for a sixth straight month with the opening of its October order book. It also follows a $60/st price bump by SSAB Americas – another major US plate producer – on Friday, Sept. 26.

It’s Nucor’s first official price change since it raised plate tags by $40/st back on March 28, according to SMU’s mill price announcement calendar.

The letter didn’t specify a base price for normalized and quenched-and-tempered plate as Nucor’s announcements normally do. But the increase is believed to apply to all plate products.

“We reserve the right to re-quote any order not confirmed by an order acknowledgement,” the company said in the letter.

Pricing dynamics

The latest pricing note from Nucor would, in theory, place its base A36 discrete plate at ~$1,335/st, for standard thickness and width. And it would create a $375/st gap between Nucor’s theoretical price and the current market price.

SMU’s plate price stands at $960/st on average as of Sept. 23, down $5/st week on week. Plate prices have declined by nearly $200/st since late June, and are down ~$65/st over the past month, according to SMU’s interactive pricing tool, which you can find here.

SMU will next update sheet and plate prices later today.

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.