Company Announcements
April 16, 2026
Written by Michael Cowden
Nucor announced its fuel surcharge for plate will be at least $10 per short ton (st), effective with shipments beginning May 1.
The Charlotte, NC-based steelmaker said the move was necessary “to address ongoing changes in fuel and transportation costs” in a letter to customers dated April 15.
Nova Steel, a steel pipe fabricator based in Montreal, has announced layoffs it claims are related to an alleged surge of low-priced imports. The Canadian company announced the temporary layoff of 36 employees at its Saint-Patrick facility, effective Friday, Nov. 13. Nova said unfairly traded steel pipe imports have affected it for years. The company noted that it has brought trade cases to the Canadian government to address the problem.
Nucor said on Monday, Nov. 9, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,295 per short ton (st) this week, up $15/st from the prior week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,365/st, also up $15/st from last week. Nucor continues to offer lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Nov. 3, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,350/st, up $45/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 10.
Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers (USW) announced on Friday that they had reached a tentative deal for a new, four-year labor pact. The Cleveland-based steelmaker said the agreement covered approximately 12,000 USW members in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Michigan. The company noted that the deal included workers not only at its steel plants but also its mining operations—in other words, all of its USW labor contracts up for renewal. “Our USW-represented employees do work that is essential to Cleveland-Cliffs and to our country. These agreements recognize their contributions and give us the stability we need to invest, compete and continue strengthening American steelmaking," Cliffs Chairman and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said in a statement.
Gerdau announced on Nov. 2 that it will raise special bar quality (SBQ) prices by $60 per short ton ($3/cwt). The increase is effective for all new orders and shipments starting Jan. 1, 2027, according to a letter sent to customers. It applies to all hot-rolled carbon and alloy SBQ products, including rounds, squares, flats, special sections, and thermally processed products.
GrafTech International recently celebrated its 130th anniversary. The Brooklyn Heights, Ohio-based graphite electrode producer has a long and storied history. To discuss that story, Alexey Simushkin, director of marketing and marketing intelligence at GrafTech, sat down with SMU. He talked about the company, the market, and GrafTech’s outlook for the future. With over 70% of the US steel produced using electric-arc furnace steelmaking, graphite electrodes are an important component for the domestic steel industry.