US domestic plate price skyrockets following Nucor price hike: sources

Published by: Melissa VanDervort<>
25 Feb 2025 @ 22:38 UTC

Domestic plate prices in the US increased substantially following a Nucor price increase of $160 per short ton announced on Monday February 24.

Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US was $53 per hundredweight ($1,060 per ton) on Tuesday February 25, up 17.78% from $45 per cwt on February 18.
Inputs were collected in a range between $48-60 per cwt, representing deals, offers and assessments of the general market.
Domestic plate prices have skyrocketed following Nucor’s substantial plate price increase, sources said, with widespread uncertainty and panic buying rampant in the plate market.
Most transactions are limited to contract pricing with limited spot buying for April order books, sources said, which is driving plate demand up in light of the price increase.
I was thinking [there would be] a $140-per-short-ton increase, but [Nucor] got me by $20 [per short ton], a distributor said. [The increase] doesn’t surprise me. [Nucor] will probably close [order books for] April by the end of this week. I’m guessing they have some contract tons stockpiled, so a minimal amount of spot orders will be accepted [for April].
The distributor continued: Demand is good in regard to [spot] panic buying, [and] downstream demand is okay but not surging like it will in a few months [from now]. We will see if folks continue to purchase [spot tons] thinking more increases ahead of the market, or if the market will take a breather for the next few weeks.
A second plate distributor agreed with that sentiment, saying The plate market is all over the place right now. [Domestic] mills have suspended quoting us on pricing until they officially open April [order books]. The mills have suspended quoting [spot transaction orders] on future orders until they officially fill up for April. [We anticipate] that will fill up quickly for April, and then we expect another increase [to follow in the near term].
It’s too much, too fast, but the [domestic plate] mills are now back in charge, the second distributor said.
The [domestic] plate mills we have talked to [have told us] that they are receiving a high volume of new [plate] orders in the last couple of weeks, a plate buyer said.
They admitted that some customers (both spot and contract buyers) are buying in panic mode.
A second plate buyer had a similar sentiment, saying, It’s price-gouging — plain and simple.
The plate market has gone [suddenly] into this complete gridlock-step, the second buyer said. People are trying to buy [in bulk] now, to get ahead of the increase. It’s price-gouging, that’s what it is — and that’s exactly what’s happening right now in the [domestic] plate market. This [mill transaction price] is what the [domestic plate] price is going to be, take it or leave it.