Will a new round of price increases be enough to firm struggling US flats market?

US domestic mills have kicked off a new round of price increases in attempt to help firm US domestic flat rolled spot prices. Late Tuesday, through an internal company memo, US  Steel told customers that it would be raising hot rolled coil (HRC), cold rolled coil (CRC) and hot dipped galvanized (HDG) coil prices by $2.50 cwt. ($55/mt or $50/nt). By Wednesday, AK Steel and Nucor Sheet Mill Group, NLMK USA and ArcelorMittal USA followed suit, announcing similar increases on flat rolled products across the board. Other mills were anticipated to follow, either by official letter or though company emails/memos. It still remains too soon to determine the increase's effectiveness, as sources speculated that as usual, mills would still allow customers to place a few last minute orders at previous prices.

The general consensus seems to be rooted in the US domestic market's scrap trend for March. Early speculations have pointed to an uptrend, but no major price surge. Should scrap prices increase for March, it may give mills enough support to boost prices, but likely not the full $2.50 cwt. immediately. But given overall reluctance to place orders and little-changed mill utilization rates, mills will likely face an uphill battle raising prices if the scrap market doesn't reflect a positive trend. As for imports, traders report not only no interest in offshore HRC, but also no real offers either. Chinese CRC offers continue to be available, but are only really attracting interest on the US West Coast.

*DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports