US domestic flats mills aim to halt market erosion as spot prices decline

A number of US domestic flat rolled mills have informed customers of their intention to no longer sell at price discounts to the CRU, but the effect of the change is up for debate. Led by ArcelorMittal USA, three mills including Nucor Sheet Mill Group and Severstal NA sent letters to customers this past week indicating that the market deals in recent months at prices that were a discount to the published CRU index will come to an end due to the detrimental effect on domestic prices in the last couple months. Nucor, however, stated that it will still honor existing contracts and sources tell SteelOrbis that it is uncertain as to how many contract deals mills can walk away from as some prices are set for as long as one year. Therefore, the immediate impact of announcement will likely be minimal, but buyers maintain that because mills have now "publicly identified the issue and that they intend to do something about it," long-term price improvement may soon be on the horizon.

In addition to the contract notice, Severstal NA also announced its new base prices this week, setting hot rolled coil (HRC) at $32.00 cwt. ($705/mt or $640/nt) ex-mill, and cold rolled coil (CRC) at $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) higher, a move no other mill has followed so far. The increase announcements do come at a time where HRC and CRC spot prices are still falling, both slipping about another $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) in the last week to prices that could be close to a bottom as current spots are below where mills can be profitable. As for imports, CRC offers out of China have fallen another $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) and as in previous weeks, are only gaining traction on the US West Coast.