Steel Products Prices North America

Nucor Raises Plate Prices $55-120/ton With Opening of May Book

Written by Michael Cowden

March 31, 2022

Nucor aims to increase plate prices by between $55 per ton ($2.75 per cwt) and $125 per ($6.25 per cwt) depending on the product.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the price hike was effective with new orders received on Thursday, March 31, in a letter to customers dated the same day.

Nucor

The company made the announcement with the opening of its May orderbook for plate.

The $55-per-ton price increase applies to as-rolled and normalized plate. Quenched-and-tempered product is up $100 per ton. And cut-to-length material is up $125 per ton, Nucor said.

“All published adders/extras will be applied,” the company added.

Nucor also increased prices in early March by a comparatively modest $40 per ton with the opening of its April orderbook.

Plate prices were high at the beginning of the year and – unlike sheet prices, which collapsed in January and February – have remained so.

SMU’s plate price stands at $1,845 per ton, up 2.2% from $1,805 per ton in late February and up 2.8% from $1,795 per ton at the beginning of the year.

Some market participants questioned whether plate demand justified a potentially big increase in prices.

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 specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, 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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