Published by:Melissa VanDervort<>
24 Jun 2025 @ 20:37 UTC

Plate prices in the US were unchanged on Tuesday, June 24, with sources reporting ongoing lackluster demand and low spot activity as pervasive uncertainty over near-term market trajectory continues to hamper the domestic market. Fastmarkets’ weekly assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US was $56 per hundredweight ($1,120 per short ton) on Tuesday, steady since going down by 1.75% on May 20 from $57 per cwt on May 13.
Inputs were collected in a range of $55-56 per cwt, representing offers and assessments of the general spot market.
The domestic plate market is stagnant, sources told Fastmarkets, with market participants reporting persistently weak demand and minimal spot trading.
[It is] still the same boring side on plate, a distributor said. [The plate market] just seems to be going along with weak demand and [the market is] quiet overall. Construction is pretty weak overall, which is affecting our plate demand. We [are] trying to be optimistic heading into 2026.
A second distributor shared a similar view, saying, Plate isn’t all that exciting [right now]. [There have been] no changes in pricing, demand or deliveries.
Sources expect sluggish spot activity and tepid demand to persist throughout the slower summer months, with hesitant buyers only purchasing material as necessary, while uncertainty over near-term market trajectory continues to plague the plate market.
Nothing much has changed [in the domestic plate market] — demand [is] still soft and will probably be so for the next 60 days or so. [It is] rather boring, a third distributor said.
A fourth distributor said he anticipates that inventory levels for end users are growing lean as cautious buying activity continues, which may lead to an uptick in demand and plate pricing in the second half of the year.
Certain inventories are still low — so once that breaks, we expect work [activity] and prices [to] go up, the fourth distributor said.
Lead times are at four to five weeks, according to sources.