While US domestic plate spot prices continue to fall, import prices for the US have increased in the last two weeks.
A normally tight US domestic plate spot market has continued to loosen in the last couple weeks as demand appears to have tapered off further. US domestic spot prices are now in the range of about $48.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,058-$1,102/mt or $960-$1,000/nt) ex-Midwest mill, after falling $2.00 cwt. in the last two weeks. One source of the decline is heavy tonnages of lower cost imported Russian plate still arriving into the US with tags at least $2.00-$3.00 cwt. ($44-$66/mt or $40-$60/nt) below US domestic spot prices. Sources indicate that while much of the Russian plate is for specific customers, there's a sizeable amount that was purchased as positions by traders now being sold off well below US domestic spot prices in the Gulf.
Meanwhile, US domestic mills are actively looking for orders and lead times are shrinking--domestic lead times are normally about eight to ten weeks but have slipped to about six weeks so far in August. Nonetheless, because niche end-use sectors for plate such as energy and truck-trailer manufacturing are still doing well, domestic spot prices may begin to level out next month, as manufacturing and overall activity recovers from the summer slowdown in July and August.
Conversely, while the US domestic plate spot market has softened in the last couple weeks, notable import offer prices have increased. Russian plate offers are garnering the lion's share of US domestic buyers' attention, with prices in the range of $44.00-$45.00 cwt. ($970-$992/mt or $880-$900/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports--up $1.00 cwt. in the last two weeks week as a result of consistent US demand. Brazilian plate offers are up as well, jumping about $3.00-$4.00 cwt. ($66-$88/mt or $60-$80/nt) in the last two weeks to about $50.00-$51.00 cwt. ($1,102-$1,124/mt or $1,000-$1,020/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.