US domestic hollow structural sections (HSS)
tubing prices may be unchanged since our last report two weeks ago, at $46-$48 cwt. ($1014-$1058/mt or $920-$960/nt), ex-mill; sources close to SteelOrbis say they’re “seeing signs of price stabilization, and that the tube mills are not budging on price.”
It’s also believed that some of the “slowdown” that’s been seen in
US domestic hot rolled coil pricing will be temporary; many expect to see a reversal in the upcoming weeks.
“There’s a lot of new activity that’s being seen in the energy pipe sector which has helped to bolster demand for [hot rolled] coil,” another source said. “It’s widely believed that the flats mills will announce another price increase in March. If that happens, it would mean interesting things for HSS.”
A third source agrees. “Demand for HSS is better and I think the lead times for flat rolled products are about to be pushed out some more. If we could just get a little bit more consolidation within the HSS market, things could get really good.”