Sources close to SteelOrbis have underscored their belief that it is just a matter of time before a trade case petition against certain offshore producers of US import hot rolled coil (HRC) is filed. This week’s filing of petitions against offshore cold rolled coil (CRC) producers has solidified that belief.
“The mills are losing money and their price increases have failed,” according to one Texas-based source. “It makes sense that they’re going after all flat rolled imports.” Prices within the US domestic spot market may be unchanged in the past seven days, still coming in at approximately $22.00-$23.00 cwt. ($507-$529/mt or $460-$480/nt), ex-Midwest mill, but it’s suspected that when a HRC case is put to paper that another round of price increase announcements will follow.
| Cwt. | Metric Ton (mt) | Net ton (nt) | Change from last week | |
| US ex-mill spot price | ||||
| HRC | $23-$24 | $507-$529 | $460-$480 | neutral |
| Korean | ||||
| HRC | $20-$21 | $441-$463 | $400-$420 | neutral |
| Turkey* | ||||
| HRC | $20-$21 | $441-$463 | $400-$420 | neutral |
| Brazil* | ||||
| HRC | $19-$20 | $419-$441 | $380-$400 | neutral |
| *DDP loaded truck US Gulf Coast ports | ||||