Steel plate prices in the United States held steady after most buyers did not immediately cooperate with price increases announced by producers.
Plate prices have been unchanged for a month, despite not one but two $2-per-hundredweight ($40-per-short-ton) price increases attempted by domestic mills since late July. Service centers pointed to shorter-than-normal lead times - about three weeks - in declining to pay up. An East Coast distributor said "the market is not going to support" the latest increase. The first round of increases, at best, halted the persistent declines seen between mid-April and mid-July. "They tried to push another through, and the market hasn't changed at all. There's plenty of supply. They're looking to ship tons," the East Coast distributor said. "We're not buying the increase. We're going to hold and call their bluff...