In December 2020, US domestic HSS producers rolled out two back-to-back $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $110/nt) price increase announcements. In early January, mills announced a third increase. And just when market players began to think that prices could not and would not go any higher, US domestic tube mills seem to have responded by smiling and saying “hold my beer.”
Late last week, mills announced a fourth price increase in two months. This time, however, Atlas Tube, ExlTube and Nucor indicated they’d be raising prices by $7.50 cwt. ($165/mt or $150/nt). Sources have said that this increase has also been accepted. This brings current pricing to the range of $74-$75 cwt. ($1,631-$1,653/mt or $1,480-$1,500/nt), FOB mill.
This week’s pricing is roughly $35 cwt. ($772/mt or $700/nt) higher than pricing in August 2020, and sources have said it’s almost hard to believe that prices have more than doubled.
Another sources said the HSS increases shouldn’t be surprising. “HRC spot market prices are hovering as high as $60 cwt. ($1,323/mt or $1,200/nt), lead times are still 9+ weeks out, and coil is being delivered late. Flats mills will keep pushing prices up until the floor falls out from under them. As far as tubing goes, the service centers expect another increase. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw another $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) increase in the upcoming weeks. Stock at the tube mills is non-existent, so it’s a seller’s market.”
“This is absolutely insane,” a source said. “And considering where prices are, we’ve definitely seen some of our clients put some of their projects on hold. If we’re not at the top, we have to be close. I cannot imagine prices going any higher.”