US domestic hot dip
galvanized (HDG) prices have slipped another couple of dollars per hundred weight in the last week, though buyers expect that the bottom of the market is approaching.
Most market players agree there is still slightly more room for flat rolled prices to come down before they reach the bottom and then begin their arduous upward climb; however, the bottom is getting closer with each day. Just in the last week, US domestic HDG prices fell, on average, by another $3.00 cwt. ($66 /mt or $60 /nt), bringing spot prices for base sizes to a range of $34.00 cwt. to $37.00 cwt. ($750 /mt to $816 /mt or $680 /nt to $740 /nt) from most mills in the Midwest region. For sizes 0.019" x 48" G90 (0.48 mm x 1.219 m), domestic mills are selling in the range of $42.00 cwt. to $45.00 cwt. ($926 /mt to $992 /mt or $840 /nt to $900 /nt) ex-mill Midwest. For 0.012" by 40.875" G30 (0.30 mm x 1.04 m) sized items, domestic offers are falling within the range of $46.00 cwt. to $50.00 cwt. ($1,014 /mt to $1,102 /mt or $920 /nt to $1,000 /nt) ex-mill Midwest.
Although prices are still falling, the price range at which offers can be found is getting wider, mostly because not all buyers are able to achieve the lowest-priced offers. The market dynamic has shifted from about a month ago, when most buyers could, more or less, name their price. Now, only buyers ready to book large amounts of tonnage are able to achieve the numbers on the lower end of the spectrum. Domestic mills are trying to get back on top, and are now rejecting buyers’ bids that they deem to be too low, demonstrating, perhaps, that the market is on the verge of a turnaround. Also, with the
production cuts that mills were forced to implement, lead times for flat rolled products are being pushed out, which is expected to lead to market tightening going into the first quarter.
On the import side, offers to the Gulf and West Coasts are, on average, a few dollars lower than their domestic counterparts. There has been some traction, although with the domestic market’s fate still uncertain, and offshore orders not arriving until mid-to-late first quarter, there still aren’t too many sales taking place.
Offers from
China for HDG 0.019" x 48" G90 (0.48 mm x 1.219 m) items have decreased by another $2.00 cwt. since last week to a new level of $40.00 cwt. to $42.00 cwt. ($882 /mt to $926 /mt or $800 /nt to $840 /nt) duty-paid, FOB loaded truck West Coast ports.
For the same size and coating, Taiwanese offers have also decreased by $2.00 cwt. in the last week, and are now ranging from $42.00 cwt. to $44.00 cwt. ($926 /mt to $970 /mt or $840 /nt to $880 /nt) duty-paid, FOB loaded truck West Coast ports.
Meanwhile, Chinese offerings for HDG sized 0.028" x 48" G40 (0.71 mm x 1.219 m) have fallen by another $2.00 cwt. to a range of $36.00 cwt. to $39.00 cwt. ($794 /mt to $860 /mt or $720 /nt to $780 /nt) duty-paid, FOB loaded truck West Coast ports.
New offers from
India for 0.012" by 40.875" G30 (0.30 mm x 1.04 m) are now falling in the range of $42.00 cwt. to $44.00 cwt. ($926 /mt to $970 /mt or $840 /nt to $880 /nt) duty-paid FOB loaded truck Gulf ports.
For the same size and coating, Chinese offerings are also priced at $42.00 cwt. to $44.00 cwt. ($926 /mt to $970 /mt or $840 /nt to $880 /nt) duty-paid, FOB loaded truck West Coast ports.
Mexican offers for the same size and coating at the border crossing are also ranging from $42.00 cwt. to $44.00 cwt. ($926 /mt to $970 /mt or $840 /nt to $880 /nt).
On the galvalume side of the market, for 0.019" by 48" AZ55 (0.48 mm x 1.219 m) items, domestic offers dropped another $2.00 cwt. to a range of $48.00 cwt. to $51.00 cwt. ($1,058 /mt to $1,124 /mt or $960 /nt to $1,020 /nt) ex-mill. As for imports,
Taiwan is offering in the range of $45.00 cwt. to $48.00 cwt. ($992 /mt to $1,058 /mt or $900 /nt to $960 /nt) FOB loaded truck, West Coast ports, while
China and
India are both offering in the range of $44.00 cwt. to $46.00 cwt. ($970 /mt to $1,014 /mt or $880 /nt to $920 /nt) FOB loaded truck, US West and Gulf Coast ports.