Activity within the US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) market has slowed slightly in the past two weeks, as softening flats prices and downtrending scrap prices have HSS buyers wondering if they’ll see a trickle-down effect. SteelOrbis sources have said that tube mills are not selling as much as they’d like. In January, Atlas announced a $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) decrease in pricing only to announce they’d be raising prices by $1.00 cwt. effective Feb. 17 as a means of stimulating order activity. Now, however, it’s believed that increase may not take effect. Although the most commonly reported spot price range from other HSS producers is $1.00 cwt. higher than Atlas, at $48.50-$49.50 ($1,069-$1,091/mt or $970-$990/nt) ex-Midwest mill, anyone who comes knocking with a decent sized order could easily negotiate a better deal.
Meanwhile, order activity for import HSS from Korea and Turkey have also slowed in the past two weeks. Although the most commonly reported transaction range is unchanged since our last report, still at $37.50-$38.50 cwt. ($827-$849/mt or $750-$770/nt), those who were interested in booking futures have already placed their orders, and new futures orders are now trending light.