Steel Mills

Nucor Follows Atlas, Increases HSS Prices $125/Ton

Written by Michael Cowden

March 11, 2021

Nucor’s tubular products group aims to increase prices for hollow structural sections (HSS), mechanical tubing and piling product by $125 per ton ($6.25/cwt) effective immediately.

“The increase is a result of rising raw material costs, strong demand and (the) volatility of transportation costs,” the steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Thursday, March 11.

NucorNucor said it would protect orders booked before the announcement at pre-increase levels through April 9.

“New orders, quotes and contracts not previously confirmed by Nucor will be subject to this increase,” the company said.

Nucor’s increase comes a day after Atlas Tube and EXLTUBE rolled out price hikes of the same amount. North of the U.S. border, Welded Tube of Canada incresased prices by approximately the same amount after adjusting for currency differences.

The latest wave of pipe and tube price hikes follows a historical spike in flat-rolled steel prices.

SMU’s benchmark hot-rolled coil price stands at $1,270 per ton ($63.50/cwt), up 7.6% from $1,180 per ton a month ago and 28.9% above $985 per ton at the beginning of the year.

Hot-rolled coil prices are now less than $10 per ton below an all-time high. The hot band price hit $1,070 per ton in July 2008, before the financial crisis. That figure, adjusted for inflation, is $1,279.41 per ton in 2021 dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He has since 2014 specialized in flat-rolled steel but has previously reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube as well as aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago - where he was involved in launching AMM's daily hot-rolled coil index, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

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