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 editor-in-chief 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.