Offshore producers of API X-42 electric resistance weld (ERW) line pipe continue to be aggressive in seeking
US orders, but Vietnamese and Taiwanese producers may be chasing a market in which there’s simply not enough orders to pad their books. Prices from these three countries have not wavered in the past week and are still in the approximate range of $38.50-$39.50 cwt. ($849-$871/mt or $770-$790/nt), DDP loaded truck in
US Gulf coast ports. Official prices for
Korea are still approximately $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) higher, but Korean mills are ready and willing to negotiate. Korean mills continue to dominate
US import tonnages, as evidenced by the most recent Steel Monitoring Import and Analysis (SIMA) data. For the month of November, import tonnages of OCTG from
Korea totaled 93,449 mt (license data), with
Vietnam trailing at 3,814 mt and
Taiwan at 1,031 mt.
Meanwhile, the
US domestic line pipe market is still struggling to resolve a situation involving too much supply and not enough demand. Order activity and inquiries may be steady, but they are simply not at pace with mill production levels. Spot prices for
US domestic API X-42 ERW line pipe are still at $54.00-$55.00 cwt. ($1,191-$1,212/mt or $1,080-$1,100/nt) ex-Midwest mill, unchanged in the past week, with lead times having held at approximately three weeks.