May 4 data from the US Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance shows that for the month of April, US import line pipe tonnages were calculated at 134,722 mt (license data); in comparison, April 2015 line pipe import tons were recorded at 284,347 mt (census data).
In April 2016, the most significant offshore source of US import line pipe was Korea, at 37,208 mt (license data). In April 2015, Korea shipped 140,910 mt of line pipe to US ports.
“Rig counts are a mess, drilling is a mess and the global oil supply glut doesn’t seem to be getting any better,” one Texas-based source said. “The market is slow. It’s very very slow.”
In terms of pricing, everything has held lateral week-on-week. Futures offers from both Taiwanese and Korean and Taiwanese producers for API X-42 EWR line pipe continue to be heard in the approximate range of $25.50-$26.50 cwt. ($562-$586/mt or $510-$530/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf Coast.
Looking onshore, US domestic spot market prices continue to be heard in the approximate range of $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt), ex-Midwest mill. On-the-ground inventory, however is said to be available “at a deep discount because the yards just want to turn it over.”