In mid-December, SteelOrbis reported that US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS) tubing prices were trending in the range of $45.00-$46.00 cwt. ($992-$1,014/mt or $900-$920/nt), ex-works, with the idea that higher prices were imminent.
That suspicion, sources said, was directly tied to higher scrap and US HRC prices that were seen during the last month of 2019. Today, sources are reporting that US HSS prices have indeed firmed, to an average of $48.50 cwt. ($1,069/mt or $970/nt), ex-mill.
Questions regarding how long prices will remain stable, and whether another price increase is on the horizon, have yet to be answered. Today, SteelOrbis reported that US scrap prices settled upward by $30/gt ($30/mt) across the board. It’s also worth noting that once scrap settled, Nucor Sheet Mill Group announced it would be raising flat rolled steel prices by $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt), effective with all new orders. It’s largely held that other US flats mills will announce “sooner than later.”
If flats mills succeed in pushing prices upward, US tube mills are likely to announce an increase of their own.