Prices have held surprisingly firm in the US plate market over the last couple weeks, as mills have not shown much willingness to negotiate significant deals. While the $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) in price increases announced in early February have not been fully absorbed into US domestic plate spot prices, mills have been reluctant to grant deals and have been enforcing at least a partial price increase on all new orders. Some smaller distributors indicate being quoted as high as $38.00-$39.00 cwt. ($838-$860/mt or $760-$780/nt) ex-Midwest mill, and being forced to pay the higher prices in some cases as lead times appear to have extended to about six weeks over the past month.
Generally, US domestic plate spot prices are still about $36.00-$37.00 cwt. ($794-$816/mt or $720-$740/nt) ex-Midwest mill, but the bulk of spot activity is taking place on the high end of the range and even slightly higher in some cases. While the drop in scrap prices this month has been an obstacle for plate mills, sources tell SteelOrbis that the partial success of the increases, coupled by minimal import competition and decent demand have allowed the plate market to strengthen. Turkish plate offers of about $34.00-$35.00 cwt. ($750-$772/mt or $680-$700/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports and Taiwanese offers about $2.00 cwt. higher are too high for many to book any significant tons offshore, although a few sporadic futures orders have been booked over the past couple weeks.