Mills Announce More Price Increases on Flat Rolled

On Tuesday, Algoma Steel followed suit, notifying its U.S. flat rolled customers of a $50 increase in its hot rolled and cold rolled spot pricing.

This week’s check of the market by Steel Market Update puts the current average price for hot rolled steel at $580 per ton, back to the level where it was in early March before the COVID pandemic. That’s up about $140 from the low of $440 per ton reported by SMU in the second week of August.

Buyers tell SMU the mills are seeking to collect a minimum of $600 per ton for HR, and the EAF mills are asking for higher prices without any official notice.

Commented one SMU source: “The recent price announcement has lots of traction; inventories got too low and buyers got flat footed. It will stick. There is no negotiation on HR and galvanized right now, with $30/cwt firm for HR and $40/cwt firm for galv.”

There has been no new announcement from market leader Nucor, at least so far. “Nucor not leading the way is a business shift to a model like Big River. Quietly raising prices with no announcement is a double-edged sword. It may be a good psychological move; however, service centers will have a hard time raising prices if the end users don’t see increases.”