Feb. 9 data from the US Department of Commerce, Enforcement and Compliance shows that US import line pipe tonnages reached 115,097 mt (license data) in January, which is up from the 77,925 mt (census data) which arrived at US docks in December, despite an overall bleak outlook for both domestic and import API X-42 ERW line pipe markets. Year-on-year import tonnages, however, are down substantially; US import line pipe tonnages in Jan. 2015 totaled 311,689 mt (census data).
The most significant offshore importer of line pipe to the US in January was Korea, at 34,831 mt (license data) which is also down significantly from Jan. 2015, when Korean line pipe import tons were recorded as being 122,880 mt (census data.)
As with previous weeks spot market prices continue to trend extremely flexible.
Futures prices from Korean and Taiwanese producers continue in an official range of $25.50-$26.50 cwt. ($562-$586/mt or $510-$530/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf Coast ports but traders still believe they could obtain deals as much as $2.00-$3.00 cwt. ($44-$66/mt or $40-$60/nt) below that range. US domestic spot market pricing also still continues to trend in the approximate range of $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt), ex-Midwest mill, but this range is equally flexible, sources say.