The US market for standard pipe, mostly used in construction for structural or transmission applications, has been very quiet recently; however, domestic US pipe mills may begin increasing transaction prices on the heels of the recent flat rolled price hikes.
US distributors of ERW ASTM A53 BPE standard pipe will welcome any price increases generated by domestic mills. Many distributors believe that a modest price hike would be achievable, as inventories have finally started to thin out. However, anything significant, like the $4.50 cwt. ($99 /mt or $90 /nt) in June HSS (tubing) increases, could be difficult to push through, as demand remains very soft.
Furthermore, shipment levels of standard and structural pipe still remain low due to the weak consumption. While inventories have come down from their highs of earlier this year, according to the most recent Metal Service Center Institute (MSCI) monthly shipment and inventory report, based on service center shipment levels, US pipe and tubing inventories still had an overhang of about 3.9 months at the end of May, despite tonnage decreasing from an estimated 708,000 nt in April to 662,000 nt in May.
On the import side, traders have informed SteelOrbis that there is just not much activity taking place for pipe. Some offers have been floating around but there is just no real interest for any kind pipe right now, especially not imports. Even if demand was improved, imports would still have to overcome the lack of freight availability and aggressive US domestic mills. And of course, antidumping orders also prohibit imports of line pipe and standard pipe from the what used to be the largest and cheapest import source - China. China is also currently under antidumping investigation for OCTG, both welded and seamless, and a positive injury determination is expected.
Nonetheless, ERW BPE standard pipe is currently being offering in the low $30s cwt. ($661 /mt or $600 /nt) from India and Taiwan duty-paid, FOB loaded truck in Gulf ports. South African ERW A53 BPE up to 4" offers have also been seen lately, but are generally a couple dollars per-hundredweight higher than their Indian and Taiwanese counterparts. Traders have informed SteelOrbis that import offers are fairly negotiable depending on quantity and size specifics.
Licensing data from the US Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis System (SIMA) demonstrate that total import tonnage of structural pipe and tube decreased for the fifth consecutive month in June, totaling 15,647 mt, down from census data of 18,057 mt in May. However, Canada and Mexico together accounted for 14,309 mt of June's imports, with 11,233 mt and 3,076 mt respectively.