Not to be outdone by domestic flat rolled steel mills, which have rolled out three $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt) price increase announcements in the past 30 days, standard pipe producers have decided to push out an increase of their own.
Yesterday, Nucor announced they would be raising prices for US domestic standard pipe by $2.00 cwt. ($44/mt or $40/nt), effective with all new orders. The move, sources note, may be strategic. Although US flats mills have not succeeded in pushing all of their desired increases through, the market has begun to shore up. Increased order activity, sources say, has been less about improved demand and more about buyers wanting to stock up in advance of an upward price swing.
Standard pipe producers, however, may succeed in getting at least some of the desired increase, as demand within this segment seems to be exhibiting seasonal signs of improvement. Increased demand, coupled with a forecast uptick in August scrap prices and higher US HRC prices, may force customers to make buys at higher price points.
For now, current prices are being heard in the range of $48.00-$49.50 cwt. ($1,058-$1,091/mt or $960-$990/nt), ex-mill, although deals below this range have been available to volume buyers. Sources further believe that if mills are unsuccessful in garnering higher price points, this week’s increase announcement may succeed in taking lower priced deals off the table.