Steel Products

Nucor Raises Plate Price by $40 Per Ton
Written by Tim Triplett
October 23, 2018
The Nucor Plate Group announced today, Oct. 23, that it is raising transaction prices on carbon and alloy plate and heat-treated plate by $40 per ton ($2.00/cwt). The increase takes effect immediately on all new orders promised on or after Jan. 1, 2019. All published extras will be applied. Nucor’s last price hike on plate was a $50 increase announced Feb. 14.
The change in the plate price follows on the increase announced Oct. 10 by Nucor’s Sheet Mill Group raising the price of hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products by $40 per ton.
Domestic plate mills have been on controlled order entry for months with lead times extended to 6-10 weeks as demand has outpaced supply. Plate prices have been relatively stable (see chart below), compared to flat rolled prices, which have been on the decline since this summer. However, Steel Market Update data showed plate prices slipping by about $10 last week to an average around $995 per ton.

Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Products

Olympic Steel sees increased line pipe jobs while lead times jump on Trump tariffs threats
Olympic Steel has seen jobs for line pipe jump in recent weeks as the Trump administration has talked up fossil fuel production, which is good news for hot-rolled coil producers. Meanwhile, tariff talk has lengthened lead times, Olympic executives said.

US HR prices surge above offshore tags
Hot-rolled (HR) coil prices leaped in the US this week, while tags abroad saw more measured gains. The result: US hot band prices have become even more expensive than imports on a landed basis. In fact, the premium US HR prices carry over HR prices abroad now stands at a 12-month high.

US rig counts inch up again, Canadian activity slips
The latest oil and gas rig count in the US increased slightly from last week, while Canadian activity edged lower, according to Baker Hughes.

SMU flat-rolled market survey results now available
SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

CRU: Rising protectionism impacts global steel trade
US sheet prices surge following tariff announcement