Import activity for J55 electric resistance welded (ERW) oil country tubular goods (OCTG) in the US has not improved following price increase a few weeks ago. In late April/early May, mills in Taiwan and Korea increased offer prices to the US anywhere from $0.50-$1.50 cwt. ($11-$33/mt or $10-$30/nt), but with a glut of imports arriving the last couple months, many US buyers are keeping futures bookings to a minimum at the moment. For the most part, Korean, Taiwanese and Indian offer prices to the US are between $49.00-$50.00 cwt. ($1,080-$1,102/mt or $980-$1,000/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, as they were two weeks ago, but offers from some Taiwanese mills are about $1.00 cwt. ($22/mt or $20/nt) lower due to intense competition between various offshore mills. Trader sources have indicated that Malaysian mills offered OCTG to the US at around $52.50 cwt. ($1,157/mt or $1,050/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, but with so many other low-priced import offers available, there are few takers.
The heavy import arrivals--over 300,000 mt in both March (census data) and April (license data)--are also impacting US domestic ERW OCTG spot prices. Although the general spot price range remains between $66.00-$67.00 cwt. ($1,455-$1,477/mt or $1,320-$1,340/nt) ex-Midwest mill, large drilling projects could garner significant discounts, according to SteelOrbis sources. US buyers are also holding high inventories, and with some price weakness evident and substantial availability for commodity products at domestic mills, many are able to hold off purchases until they are immediately necessary.