US domestic plate spot prices have been on the decline for months now, but an increase this week from one major mill is aiming put a floor under prices. On Thursday, Nucor Plate Mill Group announced that it would be increasing plate prices by $2.50 cwt. ($55/mt or $50/nt), effective immediately with all new orders. Mills have been waiting for the opportune moment to announce a price increase, according to service center sources, and increasing prices just after August scrap prices settled as much as up $80/lt gives the increase the best chance of success. It's too soon to determine whether mills will actually be able to push up spots or simply stop the multi-month price erosion, and many industry sources remain skeptical. Prior to the increase, however, spot prices had already fallen about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) from previously reported prices two weeks ago into the range of $39.50-$40.50 cwt. ($871-$893/mt or $790-$810/nt) ex-Midwest mill.
While domestic plate market sentiment will likely begin to improve following the increase, it may not be enough to reignite import activity. Certain import offer prices have been too attractive for larger buyers to pass up, but smaller distributors aren't willing to take the gamble right now. Still, Korean and Japanese plate prices remain aggressive in the range of $36.00-$38.00 cwt. ($794-$838/mt or $720-$760/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Plate futures ordered a few months back are also still trickling into the US. US Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) data show 96,262 mt (license data) of cut-length plate arriving in July, after 102,056 mt (census data)arrived in June and 50,912 (license data) this month as of August 9.