Reactions to Friday’s announcement of the final AD/CVD duty margins in the oil country
tubular goods (OCTG) case have permeated through the
US domestic market, with many speculating on the effect of the significant AD margins against mills in
Vietnam, Turkey and Thailand; along with
India’s margins that, while significantly less than initially levied, essentially knock them out of the
US import market.
What is of interest, though, is that Korean mills Nexteel and Hyundai HYSCO have indicated that despite the AD ruling against them, it will be “business as usual” when it comes to shipping OCTG to the
US. Recent news reports have quoted Hyundai HYSCO as saying that even if duties are applied to export prices, their profit margins will simply increase, and experts have said that if would have taken AD margins of about 20 percent to take them out of the market completely. For now, Korean mills involved in the suit are reportedly mulling their pricing options and new offers should be available soon, undoubtedly higher than last week’s range of $47.50-$48.50 cwt. ($1,047-$1,069/mt or $950-$970/nt) DDP loaded truck
US Gulf coast ports from first-tier mills. However, sources tell SteelOrbis that offers from third-tier Korean mills (not named in the suit) are newly available at the bottom end of that range.
In terms of domestic pricing, that has not yet moved, although
US producers may try to roll out a price increase in the near future, much like they tried in September of last year after the AD/CVD case was first filed (although the $5.00 cwt. ($110/mt or $100/nt) increase was never absorbed). For now, the most commonly reported
US domestic spot price transaction range remains at $59.00-$61.00 cwt. ($1,300-$1344/mt or $1,180-$1,220/nt) ex-Midwest mill.