Defined by tepid demand levels and weak purchasing activity, the US wide flange beam (WFB) market has not seen much of an impact from the $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) transaction price decrease announced last week. Sources tell SteelOrbis that distributors have not increased their mill purchases since the announcement because there are still leftover spot deals in the market for amounts equal to--or less than--the new transaction price, which is $41.00 cwt. ($904/mt or $820/nt) ex-Midwest mill (for ASTM A992, W10 x 10, W18 x 6, and W24 x 7). Furthermore, distributors have not yet passed the decrease onto their customers, instead trying to clear out material on hand first. Overall, there is not much expectation in the market that prices will move much for the remainder of the year, even if shredded scrap prices move slightly down to sideways in December, as early speculation predicts.
As for imports, US buyers are largely staying away from overseas orders, as they have no need to make purchases in the large tonnage amounts required of import transactions. Even attractive prices, which have lowered in the last month, are not enough to lure them. Currently, offers from Korea are in the range of $38.00-$40.00 cwt. ($838-$882/mt or $760-$800/nt) DDP load truck in Gulf Coast ports, a $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) drop since mid-October. Similarly, offers from Spain have also decreased by $3.00 cwt. in the last month, putting most prices in the range of $39.00-$41.00 cwt. ($860-$904/mt or $780-$820/nt) DDP load truck in Gulf Coast ports.