The $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) transaction price decrease announced by US domestic WFB mills two weeks ago basically rescinded the equivalent price increase announced last month--but neither price move had an effect on actual spot prices, which are still about $1.00-$2.00 cwt. ($22-$44/mt or $20-$40/nt) below published prices. But despite the relatively consistent trend in prices, demand for beams might be looking up. Distributor sources report a slight increase in inquiry activity, as customers shop around for deals in the early bidding stages of end-use activity. As a result, some distributors plan to boost up inventories that they have kept purposely low for months--however, because the beam market is so marginal, it is not expected that a moderate increase in buying activity will affect the stable price trend.
Because the general spot range for US domestic WFB is hovering around $40.00-$41.00 cwt. ($882-$904/mt or $800-$820/nt) ex-mill (for ASTM A992, W10 x 10, W18 x 6, and W24 x 7), higher-priced imports are not garnering much interest. Import beam offers from Spain are currently about $41.50-$42.50 cwt. ($915-$937/mt or $830-$850/nt) DDP loaded truck in Gulf Coast ports, reflecting only a $0.50 cwt. ($11/mt or $10/nt) decrease on the high end in the last month. Offer prices from Korea, meanwhile, are still about $1.00 cwt. more than Spanish prices (also DDP loaded truck in Gulf Coast ports).