Prices for carbon steel plate in the United States spiked after mills accumulated a backlog of unconfirmed order requests that may keep them busy for months and service centers grew more concerned about how long they must wait to officially book spot material.
Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for steel cut-to-length plate carbon grade, fob mill US jumped to $45 per hundredweight ($900 per short ton) on Monday January 4 from $43 per cwt on December 28. The past two assessments occurred on Mondays due to US holiday closures on the previous Fridays. The cut-to-length price has now gained exactly $20 per cwt, or 80%, after descending to a 2020 low of $25 per cwt last summer. Service center sources said North American mills were generally not revealing their spot availability for February or March. At the same time, the...