Steel Products Prices North America

Nucor Maintains Plate Pricing With Opening of August Books

Written by Laura Miller

July 6, 2022

Nucor is keeping plate prices flat with the opening of its August 2022 order book.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said it would maintain plate prices, effective with new orders. All published adders and extras will be applied, the company said in a letter to customers dated June 30.

arrow neutralIn its previous letter to customers dated June 13, Nucor dropped cut-to-length plate prices by $85-125 per ton depending on width, while keeping prices for discrete plate flat.

SMU’s plate price range currently stands at $1,745-1,855 per ton with an average of $1,800 per ton ($90/cwt), FOB mill, according to SMU’s interactive pricing tool. These figures were down $5 per ton from the previous week. Lead times are in the range of 4-8 weeks.

While plate prices have remained elevated for months, hot-rolled coil prices continue to decline.  SMU’s average HRC price registered $955 per ton ($47.75 per cwt) this week – a drop of $40 per ton from the week before and a 24% decline since early June.

One service center source told SMU that they believe the spread between plate and HRC “is way too wide. I don’t care what the plate mills say – this will force their hand,” he indicated. Although mills have had their published price at $93/cwt for plate, some buyers had already been receiving prices closer to $90/cwt, so Nucor’s June 30 price announcement “makes sense.”

A West Coast plate buyer confirmed that they too are seeing base prices for plate at $90/cwt and that they “are starting to see the plates mills willing to negotiate prices a bit.”

By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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