Steel Mills

Nucor Joins $60/ton Sheet Price Hike Parade

December 1, 2022

Nucor Corp. has joined other sheet producers in the US and Canada in a push to raise base prices by at least $60 per ton ($3 per cwt).

The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the move was effective immediately for new orders in a letter to customers on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

“We reserve the right to review and re-quote any offers that are not confirmed with either a Nucor sales acknowledgement or written acceptance by both parties,” the company said in the letter.

Nucor’s move follows increases announced by Cleveland-Cliffs and US Steel on Monday. It also lends the heft of North America’s largest EAF producer to a price hike initiated by two companies traditionally seen as integrated mills.

It’s too early to say whether the increases will stick. But they appear to have at least temporarily put a floor under prices following deep discounting for larger buyers ahead of Thanksgiving.

Steel Market Update’s price for hot-rolled coil stands at $625 per ton, up $10 per ton from last week but down $60 per ton from early November.

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.