Two weeks ago, US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) mills announced a $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) increase and a second increase already appears imminent. With the initial price increase anticipated a few days before it was made official, many buyers that had let inventories get extremely lean were forced to jump back in the market and place orders ahead of the price increases. Sources tell SteelOrbis that mills are already quoting $46.00 cwt. ($1,014/mt or $920/nt) ex-Midwest mill and higher on new orders as they prepare to announce a second price increase. In general though, as some large buyers have not been forced to pay any, much less the full increase, spot market activity is still taking place anywhere from $1.00-$2.00 cwt. ($22-$44/mt or $20-$40/nt) below asking prices.
Already, mills are anticipated to announce a second increase following a second round of flat rolled price increases this week. On the heels of a $45-$60/lt increase in scrap prices for November, depending on the region, flat rolled mills announced a $2.50 cwt. ($55/mt or $50/nt) price increase and sources anticipate that it won't take long for tubing mills to follow suit. Even as prices domestically are set to rise, the vast majority of US buyers aren't too interested in imports, although Mexico is able to garner a steady flow of orders from customers located near Gulf ports, offering HSS to the US about $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) below US domestic spots, with some orders heard as low as $39.00-$40.00 cwt. ($860-$882/mt or $780-$800/nt) DDP loaded truck delivered into Houston.