- Thin plate prices increase after nearly two years
- Rising raw material, labour costs prompt price hike
Japan Metal Daily: Nippon Steel has decided to raise the selling prices of all thin plate products, including hot-rolled black skin, pickled, cold-rolled, and plated sheets, by JPY 10,000/t ($63/t) from April 2026 underwriting (equivalent to May shipments) for domestic retail, rerolling, pipe, and light-gauge steel applications. The company has begun informing customers and distributors of the revision.
This marks the first price increase for thin plate products in this segment since March 2024, nearly two years ago.
Until now, Nippon Steel had implemented self-help measures such as cost reductions and only partial cost pass-throughs to customers to address structural cost increases, which had received a certain level of acceptance. However, the continued rise in yen-denominated raw material costs, partly due to foreign exchange fluctuations, along with increases in labour and logistics expenses, has pushed the overall cost increase beyond JPY 10,000/t ($63/t), according to the company’s Thin Plate Sales Department.
Under these circumstances, Nippon Steel concluded that steadily passing on additional cost increases to product prices is necessary to maintain a sustainable supply system across the steel supply chain, particularly as market conditions appear to be bottoming out.
While the company will implement a JPY 10,000/t ($63/t) price increase at this stage, it stated that it will continue to monitor cost trends and may consider further hikes if required. Any additional revisions will be announced accordingly. Meanwhile, Nippon Steel Building Materials and Nippon Steel Plate are also considering price increases for their group company products.
Regarding the broader steel market environment, steel markets in East and Southeast Asia remain volatile amid an overall economic slowdown and persistent oversupply, despite measures by the Chinese government to curb excessive competition, reduce production, and reinstate the steel export permit system.
Domestically, demand trends for thin sheets have shown some improvement. In the automotive sector, domestic production has picked up following tariff settlements with the United States. In the construction sector, the impact of the recession has eased following the rush ahead of the Building Standards Act revision. Meanwhile, construction has begun on large-scale projects such as the Osaka IR and data centres, while orders in the industrial machinery sector have also improved.
At the same time, inventories of the three major thin plate products have remained at appropriate levels, as production and distribution continue to align with steel demand.
In this demand environment, Nippon Steel believes that rising prices of imported steel and scrap, driven by the continued depreciation of the yen, are pushing the market towards a bottom.
For imported materials, the company noted that prices are trending upward; however, the absolute level remains lower than those of domestic manufacturers. As these imports are subject to international price comparisons, the company said it will continue to closely monitor potential unfair trade practices.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Japan Metal Daily and BigMint.
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