US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) price increases about two weeks ago were ill-timed, according to SteelOrbis sources, and their success remains unlikely. The April 13 announcement for a $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) price increase from Atlas Tube was subsequently followed by other HSS mills and came as a surprise considering US flats prices have been largely stagnant over the past month. Additionally, with flat rolled spot prices beginning to trend downward just days after the HSS announcement, most buyers are keeping a lid on inventory restocking, skeptical that the increases will be passed through.
As a result, spot prices for HSS remained unchanged in the last two weeks and can still be found between $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt) ex-Midwest mill, but mills can still be found making deals for lower. And although activity below the range isn't widespread, the sheer existence of lower deals indicates that the HSS market is not entirely stable, and spot prices may be more likely to drop rather than actually increase. Consequently, with so much uncertainty plaguing the domestic market, few are tempted to book substantial tonnages offshore, though Mexican mills have had a steady flow of activity from the US at prices in the range of $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt) DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston.