SteelOrbis Shanghai
2006 was an important year for
China's steel pipes and tubes exports. Regarding square and rectangular
pipe, some domestic makers estimate that the increase in exports compared with 2005 will be around 60%-80%, or even more.
Taking a look at the domestic market, we see that some makers are using their full capacity and are even considering the addition of new
production lines. Meanwhile, many other makers are just using about 60 percent of their capacity. According to some tube makers, with steel structure
production having started only a few years ago in
China, domestic
consumption is not great even though a bright future has been predicted for the long term. On the contrary, demand for square and rectangular
pipe in the foreign market is much bigger. Especially as regards big sizes, there are opportunities for
China's mills. This is due to their improved
production technology and the large overseas market
consumption .
Currently,
China's manufacturers mainly export square and rectangular pipes to America,
Europe, the
Middle East.
Pipe prices saw a continuous drop recently in the US market. Especially on the West Coast, the ex-factory prices of some local
pipe mills dropped about 100USD/mt, which led to a greater sensitivity to imported
pipe prices. At the same time, South
Korea is also speeding up tube exports to the US. Since they have increased their imports of raw material from
China, their price has become more competitive. As a result, more and more Chinese tube makers are showing a strong desire to export to
Europe. Besides
Spain and
Italy (destinations to which they already export), the Chinese manufacturers also hope to export to
UK,
Ireland,
Belgium,
Sweden and other European countries.