Nucor announces October price moves for bar, WFB

US long product leader Nucor Corp. made two October price announcements late Friday.

Nucor Bar Mill Group told customers before the weekend that effective with shipments October 1, 2009, the firm will keep net transaction pricing for rebar, merchant bar and structural pricing unchanged. To offset the $22/nt ($24/mt or $1.10 cwt.) October 1 increase in the Raw Material Surcharge (RMS) applicable to long products, Nucor will decrease base prices for these products by the same amount, thus keeping net prices neutral.

The October 1 price announcement comes after a September 3 price change in which the company lowered merchant bar and structural product prices by $40/nt ($44/mt or $2.00 cwt.), effective immediately. So, notably, Nucor's October merchant bar and structural product transaction prices will remain unchanged from September 3 listed pricing, though they will reflect the previously announced $40/nt decrease from September 1 pricing.

Also announced on Friday, Nucor-Yamato will keep wide flange beam (WFB) transaction prices unchanged in October, also by offsetting the $22/nt increase in the RMS by lowering base prices for WFB by the same amount. Unlike Nucor's merchant bar and structural mills, Nucor-Yamato, along with Nucor Berkeley, which also produces WFB, were explicitly excluded from the company's September 3 price decrease, and thus, October 1 listed WFB prices are unchanged when compared to September 1 prices.