October import arrivals flooding US HDG market

It’s been long speculated that US import hot dipped galvanized (HDG) tonnages for October could topple those seen in September; October 24 data from the Steel Monitoring Import and Analysis (SIMA) seem to support that belief.  Based on the most recent license data, current import tonnages for this month are already at 259,381 mt, which is only about 40,000 mt shy of September totals.  “A lot of people bought early with the idea that they’d get their steel in before a trade case was filed,” according to one Midwest-based trader source, “and at this point all those tons are starting to flood the docks.”

In terms of import offer prices, everything has mostly remained steady in the past seven days, outside of Brazilian mills revising prices in hopes of attracting orders. Trader sources in Mumbai, however, have said that they are having a hard time evoking interest from US buyers, even after they previously took offer pricing down.  Sources within the US say at this point, most are “just too skittish to buy.”