Key Takeaways
Nucor has set its Consumer Spot Price for hot-rolled coil at $1,040 per ton for most mills and $1,090 per ton at California Steel Industries for the week of April 6, 2026 - the continuation of a sustained price rally that began in late 2025 and carried flat-rolled steel above the psychologically significant $1,000-per-ton threshold for the first time since early 2024.
Raw material inflation is broadening and compounding: iron ore has climbed roughly 12 percent month-over-month to above $112 per metric ton, premium hard coking coal is running approximately 36 percent higher than year-ago levels, and zinc has bounced sharply from recent lows, threatening to widen cost pressure for coated and galvanized steel products.
The Trump administration's April 2, 2026 proclamation overhauling Section 232 tariffs - now applied to the full customs value of steel, aluminum, and copper imports at tiered rates ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent - introduces the most consequential structural change to U.S. metals trade policy in years, with immediate compliance and landed-cost implications for importers, fabricators, and downstream manufacturers.
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