Pricing within the US domestic line pipe continues to hold at $67.50-$71.50 cwt. ($1,488-$1,576/mt or $1350-$1430/nt), ex-mill; sources close to SteelOrbis continue to report an expectation that ex-mill pricing will remain stable, and it is not believed that prices will be pressured by a forecast softening for US HRC prices that’s expected to materialize in the upcoming weeks.
Traders, however, continue to express frustration over the Trump administration’s trade policies. One source noted that his company had previously placed an order with a Korean steelmaker, but once the steel arrived, the company was only able to take possession of 25 percent of what was ordered due to the Section 232 quota. “It put us in a really bad place with our customers,” he said.
Another source agreed. “It’s still really hard to do business in the current environment. We have supply programs with a out of our customers and it’s hard to figure out sourcing and pricing,” he said.
In terms of current offshore pricing, offers from Taiwanese and Korean steelmakers for US import API X-52 line pipe are trending between $66-$68 cwt. ($1,455-$1,499/mt or $1,320-$1,360/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports, although many traders are expressing concern that if their Korean material doesn’t arrive during the first week of January 2019, it may be withheld due to the Section 232 quota, since it’s believed that the totality of what Korea can ship to the US during Q1 2019 will arrive before January 15.