It’s been a week since US flat rolled steel producers announced a sweeping $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase, yet US CRC pricing remains flat. Market sources have said that prices continue to trend in the range of $30-$32 cwt. ($661-$705/mt or $600-$640/nt), ex-mill, noting that import US CRC in the US market from Russia is being sold at approximately $31 cwt. ($683/mt or $620/nt) DDP loaded truck US East coast.
“There have been some takers on the East coast for the Russian material,” a source said. “Because, when you figure in freight or rail costs on steel that’s being shipped from the Midwest, the Russian cold rolled is cheaper.”
Questions as to whether last week’s US domestic flat steel price increase will start to gain acceptance will likely be answered next week, when scrap starts trading for the November buy-cycle. If scrap prices start to firm, a trickle-down effect is likely to be seen throughout the market.