Over the past week, Taiwanese, Turkish, Korean and Vietnamese mills announced a $20/mt increase in API X-42 electric resistance welded (ERW) line pipe to the US, following a separate $20/mt price increase just one week ago. Raw material costs in the Far East continue to tick up and it’s not unusual for mills to try to recover those costs from customers. Still, many report a marked oversaturation of line pipe within the US domestic market, and basic principles of supply and demand dictate that trying to raise prices when product is already abundantly available is essentially a moot point. As US customers have been unwilling to book import line pipe at significantly higher prices, the average import sales price in the US on API X-42 line pipe out of each of these countries is unchanged in the past week and continue to be in the range of $43.00-$44.00 cwt. ($948-$970/mt or $860-$880/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports.
In terms of domestic pricing, the trend remains at status quo, and lead times have held at about four weeks. US domestic mill spot prices for API X-42 ERW line pipe have remained in the range of $54.00-$55.00 cwt. ($1,191-$1,212/mt or $1,080-$1,100/nt) ex-mill. Buyers say previously imported position tons can still be negotiated between $3.00-$5.00 cwt. ($66-$110/mt or $60-$100/nt) below mill prices. Domestic demand is steady, but light, as buyers report that oversupply is still the biggest hindrance when it comes to price.