Prices for US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) tubing have remained stable since our last report two weeks ago, at $58-$59 cwt. ($1279-$1301/mt or $1160-$1180/nt), ex-mill; the stability comes after a $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase that was accepted last month.
Current pricing is up nearly 25 percent from the same reporting period in 2017, when US HSS spot market prices were trending between $46.50-$48.50 cwt. ($1025-$1069/mt or $930-$970/nt), ex-mill.
The pricing upticks are directly attributed to increases in US HRC pricing, which has increased by 42 percent since the start of 2018. Sources close to SteelOrbis continue to report a strong belief that US HRC prices will be stable in the upcoming weeks, and that in the absence of additional increases in HRC pricing, HSS pricing will remain stable as well.
At the same time, there continues to be widespread concern that when offshore arrivals start to rise toward the end of the year, domestic steel prices, across HSS and flat rolled steel products, could be vulnerable to downward pressure. Even with the 25 percent tariff, imports are still cheaper than domestics, sources note.
As such, buyers say they plan to be especially cautious with their inventory levels so as not to be left “holding the bag” if prices correct as expected.