Import pricing for small sections - US market

Import pricing for small sections - US market

While import pricing for small sections from Turkey has been going up as a result of increasing billet pricing in the Black Sea region, offers from South America are far more aggressive than before. Offers from Argentina and Brazil currently range $440–460 CFR FO US Gulf Port making them less than $24 cwt. ($529.11/mt) in terms of distributor buying prices. This is a drop of more than $40/mt from a month ago. Small sections include 1/8” and 3/16” flat bars, angles and small bars, and squares. Still, the South American mills cannot support the tonnage demands of the US market and prices should eventually adjust to the higher Turkish range which is currently between $500-525/mt CFR FO US Gulf Ports. Therefore, imported small sections and merchant bars are trending strongly upward despite soft US consumption. Import orders are reportedly weak especially in California where a good share of Houston arrivals is further transshipped. Steel distributors expect lower prices from domestic mills; however, local mills representatives are reporting that they intend to keep prices the same despite the soft market.