For the past two months, US hollow structural sections (HSS) tubing prices have been mostly steady, and while most transactions had been taking place in the range of $119-$120 cwt. ($2,624-$2,646/mt or $2,380-$2,400/nt), FOB mill, in recent weeks, some sources reported getting discounts up to $1.50 cwt. ($33/mt or $30/nt) below that range.
This week, however, SteelOrbis sources feel prices are “increasingly soft,” adding that while at least two of the major tube mills are trying to keep prices level, one has been “extremely aggressive.”
“Hot rolled coil prices seem to have come off of their peak, and it looks like they’re starting to trend downward,” a source said. “I’m not surprised that tube prices are softening too, especially in that availability is up and order activity is down.”
As such, this week the most commonly heard spot transaction range for HSS has been revised down to $115-$119 cwt. ($2,535-$2,624/mt or $2,300-$2,380/nt), FOB mill.
“There is plenty of slack in pricing right now, and we anticipate the mills will do a downward adjustment soon,” the source added. “We’re trying to hold off on replacing any of our inventory until we see that decrease, and even then, our plan is to try to go out and make a deal [with the mills we work with] to get ahead of a subsequent price adjustment.”