Some mini-mills quietly adopt US sheet hike

While at least some mini-mills are raising hot-rolled prices to capture a portion of the $40/short ton increase spearheaded by US Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs, adoption remains patchy as competition continues, Kallanish hears from market sources. 

Kallanish currently puts hot-rolled at $470-500/st, with cold-rolled likewise at $670-700/st. This is inclusive of the $40/st increase and represents a tightening of the range from last week, when the spread between minis and integrated mills approached $50/st. 

Mini-mill adoption of the increase is far from universal, says one Midwest buyer, with some companies only implementing the increase at certain mills experiencing lead-time pressure. 

As a result, deals as low as $450-470/st exist for “...decent” tonnage, he says. 

“I’m not sure if any deals are left below $440/st,” he adds. “Minis have raised at some of their plants, but not all.”