The
US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) market has become increasingly interesting in the past two weeks, as buyers and sellers are trying to balance a number of factors. Formerly robust
US domestic flats prices have corrected by approximately $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) since early January, and scrap dealer sources expect to see a correction in the January price increases at the beginning of next month. If scrap and flats continues to soften, this will likely trickle down to impact HSS spot pricing. For now, mills are duking it out for market share at current price points while they last. In fact, SteelOrbis sources have confirmed that Atlas Tube officially lowered prices by $1.00 cwt. effective immediately, only to announce a $1.00 cwt. increase come Feb. 17; a move which is believed to be an attempted “shot in the arm” to stimulate orders.
Meanwhile, prices for import HSS from
Korea and
Turkey have firmed slightly in the past two weeks, with offers from both countries coming in about $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) higher than what was last reported. Now, the average transaction range from both countries has ticked up to approximately $37.50-$38.50 cwt. ($827-$849/mt or $750-$770/nt). This, according to trader sources, is still raising a few eyebrows, and this slight uptick is not discouraging buyers from booking futures.