US domestic plate prices rise amid improved demand, reduced supply
Published by:Melissa VanDervort<>
22 Apr 2025 @ 21:02 UTC

Domestic plate prices in the US increased on Tuesday April 22, with sources reporting an uptick in demand and current limited availability in the market. Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US was $58 per hundredweight ($1,160 per short ton) on Tuesday, up by 1.75% from $57 per cwt on April 15.
Inputs were collected in the range of $56-61 per cwt, representing deals, offers and assessments of the general spot market.
The domestic plate market is strengthening, sources told Fastmarkets, citing improving demand and limited supply.
Some plate mills are not quoting spot tons [right now], waiting to open their June order books, a buyer said.
With optimism in the market, plate prices are expected to rise steadily in the near term, sources said.
Pricing may [continue to] go up because demand is good and supply is limited due to the Canadian mills leaving the [plate] market [because of tariffs on imports] — unless you’re in Canada, where there is plenty of material no one wants at the tariff price, a distributor said.
Sources said they expect demand to continue to ratchet up in the second half of the year.
We have customers claiming [that] H2 looks to be good for demand, a second distributor said.
A third distributor shared a similar view, saying, I think the plate market might pick up on mill direct business in [the] second half [of 2025], but not necessarily on the service center side.
Lead times are at four to five weeks, sources said.