US flat rolled steel producers have announced a fifth price increase on all sheet steel products, including
US domestic cold rolled coil (
CRC).
AK Steel and NLMK USA told customers they would be raising
US domestic
CRC spot market prices by $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt), effective immediately. Nucor told customers they would be raising
US CRC prices by $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt). And while AK Steel, NMLK USA and Nucor did not announce new, minimum base-pricing, ArcelorMittal USA told their customers they were setting a new minimum base price of $42.50 cwt. ($937/mt or $850/nt).
In terms of how this has impacted current spot market pricing, sources close to SteelOrbis have said that spot market prices have risen by $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) on the top end since our last report a week ago.
This brings the current average spot market price range to $40-$42 cwt. ($882-$926/mt or $800-$840/nt), ex-Midwest mill, although one source said that buyers looking to book limited tonnage “are likely paying about $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) higher than that.
The current price point is a vast improvement over mid-January 2015, when SteelOrbis reported that
US domestic
CRC prices were trending at $24.50-$26.50 cwt. ($540-$562/mt or $490-$510/nt), ex-Midwest mill.
Lead times are currently trending between six and eight weeks, another source said, adding that firmed scrap prices, and optimism regarding the economy and trade policy under soon-to-be President Trump, have many within the
US steel industry feeling a sense of renewed market optimism