US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) spot prices have continued to ease lower, although sources indicate that tubing mills remain relatively busy. While lead times are only about two to three weeks for common sizes, lead times for larger products are already into December. OEM, agricultural, energy sector and large fabrication jobs are primarily keeping the mills running at high capacities, but service center buyers are still keeping their inventories extremely tight, buying only occasionally and in small quantities. Compounded by a rapid softening of domestic hot rolled coil prices throughout October--a trend likely to spill into November--it comes as no surprise that domestic HSS spot prices have fallen about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) on the high end to $47.00-$48.00 cwt. ($1,036-$1,058/mt or $940-$960/nt) ex-Midwest mill since our last report two weeks ago.
With deals below $47.00 cwt. ex-mill being booked for larger orders as well, and flat-rolled prices taking another plunge in the last week, HSS spot prices are all-but-guaranteed to tick down another notch in early November. As such, traders are finding no US buyer interest in Turkish tubing offer prices to the US of $44.75-$45.75 cwt. ($987-$1,009/mt or $895-$915/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, unchanged from two weeks ago.