Pricing for US domestic hollow structural section tubing are unchanged since our last report two weeks ago; sources close to SteelOrbis have confirmed that spot market transactions are still trending in the range of $58-$60 cwt. ($1,279-$1,323/mt or $1160-$1120/nt), ex-mill.
Lacking import arrivals seem to be playing a role in price stability, sources note.
For the month of August, data from the US Department of Commerce shows that 36,799 mt of structural pipe and tube was licensed for import; if that number remains stable, August imports would be down by nearly 34 percent year-over-year.
Census data from the US DOC shows that 55,670 mt of structural pipe and tube was imported from global sources during August 2017.
On the other hand, others still cite a strong belief that the August / September downtrend in US scrap prices, coupled with the slow, downward drift in US HRC prices, will place downward price pressure on US HSS prices “sooner than later.”
“Buyers who don’t need to buy something today are holding off because they feel prices are going to revise downward,” a source said.