Economy
April 2, 2014
March Was an Interesting Month
Written by John Packard
The month of March proved to be an interesting month for the flat rolled steel industry and related commodities associated with the industry, both within North America and around the world.
The biggest news was the move by the domestic mills to raise flat rolled steel prices. ArcelorMittal led the way on March 17th when they announced specific minimum base prices: hot rolled = $33.00/cwt base and cold rolled and coated were $39.50/cwt base. The rest of the domestic steel mills followed with either the exact same base pricing or they announced a $40 per ton increase. Either way the target numbers are $660 HRC and $790 base CR and coated flat rolled steels.
