Steel Markets

Nucor Up $100/ton on Sheet, Targets $1,000/ton on Hot Band

February 21, 2023

Nucor Corp. is pushing its hot-rolled coil price up by at least another $100 per ton ($5 per cwt), its third sheet price hike in a matter of three weeks.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based company, the largest steelmaker in the US, said the move was effective immediately for base prices on new orders.

Nucor

Nucor made the announcement in a letter to customers dated Tuesday, Feb. 21, just eight days after announcing a $50-per-ton increase. Nucor said its new base price for hot band is $1,000 per ton.

The steelmaker has now hiked sheet prices by $200 per ton since Feb. 3.

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

Nucor did not clarify the driver behind the string of price hikes, but hot band has now increased by $310 per ton since Thanksgiving, accelerating faster than the $275-per-ton rally in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

It has been nearly seven months since hot band was at or above $900 per ton, according to SMU’s interactive pricing tool. At the time, though, prices were just about halfway into a 24-week pricing collapse from the most recent high of $1,480 per ton sent in mid-April.

Steel Market Update’s hot-rolled coil price currently stands at $825 per ton, up roughly 19% from $695 per ton at the beginning of the year and up 34% from a 2022 low of $615 per ton recorded in November.

We update our prices on Tuesday, so our current price does not reflect the latest round of increases.

By David Schollaert, david@steelmarketupdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.