Nucor raises HRC benchmark price to $760/t

Despite a 60% drop in profitability in Q4, the company expects the market to recover in 2025

US steelmaker Nucor has announced a new hot rolled coil (HRC) benchmark price of $760/mt for all production sites except CSI, where the price will be $820/mt. The new price came into effect on January 27, 2025 and will remain in effect until the next update, which the company publishes every Monday.

The last time the company adjusted its price offers was in early November. At that time, the weekly spot price (WSP) for hot-rolled coils was increased by $10/t to $750/t. Thus, prices rose for the first time in 12 weeks.

Despite the announced price adjustment, the company ended 2024 with a significant drop in financial performance. Net profit in the fourth quarter decreased by 60%, amounting to $345 million against $873 million in the same period of 2023. Annual revenue decreased by 53% to $2.32 billion. The company’s EBITDA for 2024 amounted to $4.36 billion, which is 41% less than in 2023 ($7.41 billion).

According to Nucor CEO Leon Topalian, steel demand remained weak in 2024, but the situation is gradually improving. The company expects the US steel market to recover in 2025 due to the implementation of infrastructure projects and general economic trends. At the same time, in the first quarter of 2025, the results of the steel and rolling segments will be similar to those of the end of 2024, while the profit from the raw materials segment may decline.

The lead time for orders on the spot market is 3-5 weeks.

Hot rolled coil prices in North America (Ex-Works) as of January 24 are around $665 per short tonne. The supply has remained unchanged since the beginning of 2025. The last adjustment took place in early December 2024.