Cut steel plate is heading for $900/ton

Tight supply blamed for price spike

By Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 2/6/2008 11:11:00 AM

Cut steel plate is selling as high as $840/ton in the marketplace this month, almost $50 more than the $792 market average in January. The discrete plate product sold for an average $775 in November and December. Suppliers want the price up around $860-$870 in March or April since imports appear to be limited although some market insiders see that price unattainable until May. Steel Business Briefing, the online newsletter, is reporting that Ukrainian plate being sold now for $860/ton will arrive in late May.

Purchasing.com reported earlier that prices of steel plate and structural beams are expected to increase in 2008 because of expected 4.5% growth in a key market segment, nonresidential construction. At the time of that writing in November, cut plate has slipped from the $750 range to the $680 region because of slowing demand from machinery manufacturing markets. However, nonresidential and infrastructure construction market segments still were healthy.

Purchasingdata.com’s latest forecast is $874 in March and $908 in April, based on the belief that supply will be pinched through midsummer because service centers, heavy construction deports and some machinery-building OEMS are restocking depleted inventories. The last previous cut-plate highpoint was $810 last April.

Like what you see?
This news item came from our Price + Supply Alert e-newsletter. If you would like to subscribe to this free weekly e-newsletter, CLICK HERE.