Prices within the US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) tubing market may be stable week-over-week, at $56-$57 cwt. ($1235-$1257/mt or $1120-$1140/nt), ex-mill, but buyers and sellers throughout the market are wondering if the Trump administration’s proposed import quotas, which will restrict the amount of steel that can be shipped into the US, will cause prices to jump toward the end of the year. So far, South Korea and Argentina have agreed to quotas in exchange for permanent exemption from the Section 232 tariffs, while negotiations continue for other countries, both on and off the current exemption list.
“We’re still trying to figure out how to navigate this going forward, because anything you do will have a certain amount of risk tied to it,” a source said. “The other thing we’re worried about, is that if HSS prices continue to climb, customers may choose to use something like concrete in the place of tubing due to cost constraints.”
Another source was more optimistic.
“We’ve been very busy,” he said, adding that he’s looking at the glass as being half full, as opposed to half empty. “The way we go to market with keeping a lot of inventory has played to our advantage in the current market.”