Import hollow structural sections (HSS) offers in US are gaining increased attention from US buyers as domestic prices continue to move higher. Import activity in the US isn't exactly robust, and hasn't been for a number of months now, but current offer prices out of Korea and Turkey are "too good to pass up," according to sources. Offer prices out of both are now in what traders are calling a "workable range" of $36.00-$37.00 cwt. ($794-$816/mt or $720-$740/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, substantially lower than US domestic spot prices. Even at those levels, however, many US customers are sticking to domestic product for the time being and are only using imports to supplement their typical domestic orders.
Even though US domestic HSS spot prices have firmed in the last couple weeks, they certainly aren't reflecting mills' full increases, which would put prices upwards of $48.00-$48.50 cwt. ($1,058-$1,069/mt or $960-$970/nt) ex-Midwest mill. Spot prices remain unchanged in the last couple weeks in the range of $46.00-$47.00 cwt. ($1,014-$1,036/mt or $920-$940/nt) ex-Midwest mill, with the majority of transactions taking place on the upper end of the range. For now, with the upcoming holidays, little is anticipated to change in terms of demand or pricing before January, but if scrap prices and flat rolled spot prices firm in the beginning of next month, tubing prices will almost certainly follow suit. The same is true on the US West Coast, where spots are approximately $48.00-$49.00 cwt. ($1,058-$1,080/mt or $960-$980/nt) ex-West Coast mill, although demand levels are substantially poorer. Sources indicated that West Coast mills are watching price moves in the Midwest carefully and are cognizant of not letting the spread between West Coast and Midwest prices widen too much for fear of West Coast buyers taking their order to non-local producers.