U.S. Steel is raising prices on steel plate Jan. 1.

As it did when it announced price increases for sheet steel Sept. 20, the company presented the price changes as a reduction by using a complex formula that combines changes in base prices with a slash in customer discounts that results in an overall price increase. It said the published base prices for carbon and high-strength plate used in the construction industry and for defense and shipbuilding will be cut $150 a short ton, and prices for all other plate will fall $100 a ton.