Nucor-Yamato has announced to its customers that net transaction prices for wide flange beams (WFB) will remain unchanged in September due to surcharge increases; however, for select product families, base prices will increase.
To better reflect the cost of production and current market conditions, Nucor-Yamato has pushed base prices for certain WFB sizes up by as little as $0.25 cwt. and as much as $1.50 cwt. One popular size that was affected by this decision was W10 x 10, 88 - 112, which increased by $0.25 cwt., while some other sizes such as W30 x 10 ½, 124 - 132 increased by $1.50 cwt.
While base prices will increase for some sizes, others will not experience an increase. Due to the surcharge, there will be no change in transaction prices. Effective with shipments as of September 1, 2007, Nucor-Yamato's raw materials surcharge (RMS) will be $5.80 cwt. ($116 /nt or $128 /mt). This represents a $0.55 cwt. ($11 /nt or $12 /mt) increase from Nucor's August surcharge.
Nucor-Yamato is making a corresponding downward adjustment to base prices to offset the raw materials increase. Nucor-Yamato's proposed rolling schedule is showing controlled order entry for some sizes as far out as December. Though this may be the case, market players are claiming availability has loosened up some, particularly for light sections, which are much easier to come by. One market source commented that while just about every construction project planned for 2007 is already underway, the future backlog for commercial construction is rather light. The slow housing construction market has finally started putting a damper on the once booming non-residential construction market. Despite these conditions, wide flange beams are still one of the strongest steel products in the US market, and the market is still steady.
Current published prices for standard sized wide flange beams (ASTM A992, W10 x 10, W18 x 6, W24 x 7) are now all pricing at $38.50 cwt. ($849 /mt or $770 /nt) FOB mill. Despite the pricing stability in the market, sources commented that they were afraid prices may slide by the first quarter of 2008.
Wide flange beam import offering prices to the US are still very high, and there are not many takers. Prices are nearly equivalent to the domestic price, so it does not make sense to buyers to purchase foreign material. Also, offering countries such as Taiwan are more willing to sell to the Middle East and Europe right now as their construction markets are very strong, creating high demand for beams. The need for the product is forcing those countries to pay higher prices, whereas US customers are able to find enough domestic material to meet their needs.
Most import offers range from $38.50 cwt. to $40.00 cwt. ($849 /mt to $871 /mt or $770 /nt to $800 /nt) FOB Gulf and West Coast ports. Recent Chinese offers are slightly lower than that, though deliveries can be less than perfect.
Data from the US Import Administration show that for the month of July worldwide H-beam exports to the US totaled a meager 19,805 mt, with the top three exporters listed as: Taiwan, with 10,813 mt; Luxembourg, with 5,092 mt; and South Korea, with 1,808 mt.