March 31 data from the US Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance indicates that for the month of March, the US imported 103,848 mt (census data) of line pipe. This reflects a marked decline from levels seen in March 2015, when the US imported 271,003 mt of line pipe.
In March 2016, the most significant offshore sources of US import line pipe were Korea and Japan, at 38,579 mt and 10,285 mt, respectively. What is interesting, however, is that preliminary census data for the month of April indicates that US import line pipe tonnages from Japan have been calculated at 25,385 mt. One month later, in May, US import tonnages again declined.
License data for May shows that the US imported 81,524 mt of line pipe, with the most significant offshore sources being Korea and Turkey, at 31,009 mt and 15,068 mt, respectively. US import line pipe tonnages from Japan were recorded at 7,983 mt.
“Activity is a lot better for line pipe than it is for OCTG casing,” one source said, adding that any upticks in buying are “merely due to buyers’ need to fill inventory gaps.”
In terms of pricing, the most commonly heard spot market price range for US domestic API X-42 ERW line pipe is trending in the approximate range of $40.00-$42.00 cwt. ($882-$926/mt or $800-$840/nt), ex-Midwest mill; trader sources have said that futures offer prices from Korean mills for API X-42 ERW line pipe are now being heard in the approximate range of $26.50-$27.50 cwt. ($584-$606/mt or $530-$550/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports.