Although published prices for US domestic wide flange beams (WFB) increased by $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) for February shipments, prevalent discounting in the market has left spot prices still well below official asking prices. Sources tell SteelOrbis that actual transactions are still at least $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) below the published price of $43.50 cwt. ($959/mt or $870nt) ex-mill (for ASTM A992, W10 x 10, W18 x 6, and W24 x 7), but because the overall trend for WFB is pointing up, most of the deepest discounts in the market have dried up. Further, despite tepid demand from a still-bleak construction market, the price trend will likely keep spot prices from dipping in the near future, even if scrap prices stabilize in the next month as many predict.
As for imports, traders still report little activity from US buyers who are cautious about the commercial construction market in spring. However, a heavy influx of H-beams into the US so far this month has some wondering if the upcoming season might not be as sluggish as most think. According to US import license data, 18,901 metric tons of H-beams arrived into the US as of January 24, far outpacing December's total of 2,689 mt. The top sources, as usual, were Spain and Korea, who upped WFB offers to the US by around $3.00 cwt. ($66/mt or $60/nt) in the last month, now offering WFB to the US at price levels of $41.50-$43.00 cwt. ($915-$948/mt or $830-$860/nt) and $40.50-$42.50 cwt. ($893-$937/mt or $810-$850/nt), respectively, both DDP load truck in Gulf Coast ports.