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PITTSBURGH -- In an effort to recoup rising costs, two leading U.S. plate mills have announced consecutive $10-per-ton price increases for September and October--a $20 total that would be in addition to a price hike of $10 per ton previously set for September.

Following Nucor Corp.'s leading move Tuesday, Ipsco Inc. said it would raise its U.S.-only plate prices by an additional $10 a ton effective with Sept. 1 shipments and another $10 a ton with Oct. 5 shipments.

Both Nucor and Ipsco had a $10-a-ton increase already on the books for Sept. 1 shipments, and the latest announcements raise the September increase to $20 a ton to be followed by another $10 increase in early October. Joseph Rutkowski, executive vice president for business development at Charlotte, N.C.,-based Nucor, said the plate market was soft due to excess capacity and a weak construction market. However, the price increases were warranted, he said. "Basically, scrap is going crazy again and natural gas is very volatile. This is an attempt to recoup some of those costs."

John Tulloch, senior vice president and chief commercial officer of Lisle, Ill.,-based Ipsco, agreed with Rutkowski's assessment of market conditions. "There is not a plate mill out there that is making money," he said. "It's just that pricing is so low. To be sustained in this business, at some point you have to cover costs."

Stelco Inc., Hamilton, Ontario, earlier this year shut its plate mill because of slack market conditions.

Ipsco has not announced price increases for its plate sales in Canada, where imports are a bigger factor than in the United States. Tulloch said that the U.S. price increases would apply to all discrete plate and all wide-coiled (greater than 72 inches) and cut-to-length plate.

This is the second two-phase price increase by plate manufacturers this year, resulting in moves totaling $40 a ton. The earlier two-pronged approach, announced in May, included a $10-a-ton increase with July 1 shipments and the previously noted $10-a-ton hike for Sept. 1.

Tom Balcerek

tbalcerek@attbi.com