The late-October anti-dumping and countervailing duty petition against standard pipe from four of the US' main sources of imported standard pipe (UAE, India, Oman and Vietnam) has quieted the US import standard pipe market. US buyer sources tell SteelOrbis that while they have been informed that their existing orders on the books will still be manufactured and shipped as planned, many of the offshore mills are no longer taking any new orders. Likewise, traders are shying away from importing from any of the four countries right now for risk of being caught in the middle while buyers who typically imported from the countries are searching for new sources.
With the elimination of the UAE, India, Oman and Vietnam as viable options for imports, the most competitive offers for electric resistance welded (ERW) black plain end (BPE) Grade A standard pipe are coming from Korea in the range of about $46.00-$47.00 cwt. ($1,014-$1,036/mt or $920-$940/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, down $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) in the last two weeks. Offer prices from the Philippines to the US are about $0.50-$1.00 cwt. ($11-$22/mt or $10-$20/nt) higher than Korean prices, and are also garnering steady order activity from the US.
Domestic buyer sources have also told SteelOrbis that they are turning a bit more to their local mills to fulfill their needs as well in some cases, especially with the narrowing spread between US domestic spot prices and import prices. Still under downward pressure from an uncertain US domestic flats market, domestic ERW BPE Grade A standard pipe spot prices have fallen $0.50 cwt. from previously reported prices two weeks ago to the current range of $46.50-$47.50 cwt. ($1,025-$1,047/mt or $930-$950/nt) ex-Midwest mill.