Steelmaker SSAB Americas has published a raw material surcharge on products in Canada and the US because of "extraordinary market pressures brought on by recent global events."
Its the first such surchage announced by a steelmaker in North America.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has cut off more than 60pc of basic pig iron (BPI) imports into the US, putting pressure on steel raw material supplies.
The SSAB Americas surcharge will be based on a third-party published price for #1 HMS in Chicago. The company will place a surcharge equal to every dollar that HMS scrap prices rise above $465/gross ton on new spot orders and all new and existing contractual agreements.
The Argus February assessment was $410/gt, so no surcharge is in place, but monthly scrap prices are trading in excess of $100/gt higher for March.
For Canadian customers, the surcharge will convert to Canadian dollars based on the prevailing exchange rate on the same date that the surcharge is calculated.
SSAB Americas primarily produces steel plate products.
The company said it continues to monitor other raw material input costs such as transportation, fuel and operating energy, and it will consider additional surcharges as is necessary.
Nucor has already increased flat-rolled steel prices by $150/short ton in the last two weeks.
The Argus US hot rolled coil (HRC) Midwest ex-works assessment jumped by $132.50/st yesterday to $1,155/st, with many mills reported to be offering at $1,200/st.
