Wary customers, an expected drop in scrap prices and heavy import arrivals continue to take a toll on the US domestic plate market. A couple weeks ago, domestic plate spot prices fell to an average level of about $36.00 cwt. ($794/mt or $720/nt) ex-Midwest mill following a relatively strong pricing month in April. Even though overall demand levels are stable, lead times at mills appear to have shortened again and sources report ample availability of material at mills and larger service centers. Further, the previously mixed trend for scrap in June has now turned largely negative. Customers in the plate market are keeping a close eye on scrap, anticipating that if prices do go down again in June (even just slightly, as many predict they will) plate prices will be even more susceptible to deal-making.
Those quiet deals have become more widespread in the last couple of weeks, pushing spot prices down another $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) to $35.50-$36.50 cwt. ($783-$805/mt or $710-$730/nt) ex-Midwest mill, although buyers indicate being able to negotiate for prices as much as $0.50 cwt. lower on larger orders or from mills with on-the-ground inventory already. A strong month for imports could also take a toll on domestic spot prices. In April, US SIMA data show 92,526 mt (preliminary census data) of cut-length plate arrived, compared to 60,624 mt (census data) in March. As of May 28, totals for this month are lower at 53,820 mt (license data). While recent arrivals are a far cry from the 100,000 mt-plus import plate volumes that arrived during most of Q1, Q2 and Q3 2012 that were largely blamed for sinking US domestic prices in the second half of last year, last month’s import levels have made some buyers cautious about stocking inventories right now.