Nucor Raises HRC CSP Again to $1,270/Short Ton
Nucor raised its weekly Consumer Spot Price for hot-rolled coil by another $15 per short ton to $1,270/st, marking a second consecutive $15/st increase as U.S. spot availability remains tight.
- Nucor HRC CSP: $1,270/st, up $15/st week over week.
- CSI HRC CSP: $1,340/st, up $20/st.
- Lead times: Remain at three to five weeks.
- Two-week move: Nucor's CSP has risen $30/st since October 12.
- Fastmarkets: U.S. Midwest HRC was $1,295/st FOB mill on October 23.
The significance of the latest move is that Nucor has now raised its CSP by $15/st for two consecutive weeks rather than returning to the earlier $10/st steps. Independent market assessments are also near or above the producer's announced level, reinforcing evidence that the increase is occurring within a genuinely tight U.S. HRC market. The CSP remains a producer-announced price, however, and does not establish the price of every transaction.
MONTREAL (SteelPrices): Nucor increased its weekly hot-rolled coil Consumer Spot Price by $15 per short ton to $1,270/st for the week beginning October 26.
The move follows an identical $15/st increase the previous week, when Nucor raised its CSP to $1,255/st.
California Steel Industries, Nucor's West Coast joint venture, increased its HRC CSP by a larger $20/st to $1,340/st.
Nucor continues to quote spot-order lead times of three to five weeks.
Nucor Extends Its HRC Pricing Push
Nucor's announced HRC CSP has risen from $1,190/st on September 8 to $1,270/st on October 26, a cumulative increase of $80/st, or about 6.7%.
The original market report described the October 26 adjustment as Nucor's 14th consecutive weekly CSP increase.
Independent HRC Assessments Remain Firm
The broader U.S. spot market is also trading at elevated levels.
The original report, citing Kallanish, placed domestically produced U.S. HRC at $1,280–1,320/st on October 23.
Separately, Fastmarkets' corrected U.S. Midwest HRC index for October 23 stood at $1,295/st FOB mill, up 1.79% from October 16.
That puts independent market assessments close to, and in some cases above, Nucor's latest announced CSP.
Spot Supply Remains Tight
Limited spot availability continues to support U.S. flat-steel pricing.
Steel Market Update reported on October 27 that sheet and plate prices continued to rise as the current supply squeeze persisted and mill lead times moved into 2027.
The publication said buyers continued to report difficulty obtaining domestic spot steel, while earlier October reporting put average U.S. HRC at $1,290/st.
For additional market context, SteelPrices recently examined the broader regional divergence in HRC pricing as U.S. supply tightened while Chinese prices weakened.
What to Watch Next
The near-term question is whether tight mill availability continues to support higher transaction levels as buyers move deeper into 2027 order books.
New domestic capacity and a possible recovery in imports could eventually provide relief, but current evidence continues to show constrained spot supply and firm producer pricing.
Sources: Steel Market Update; Fastmarkets; Kallanish as cited in the original reporting. Courtesy: GMK Center.
