US domestic line pipe mills may be pushing for higher spot market prices, but sources close to SteelOrbis have said that there are still plenty of distributors that are sitting on old inventory.
“All the mills are trying to get prices up because their input costs have gone up, so the price increase announcements make sense,” one source said. US Steel this week also announced they would be raising line pipe prices by $3.50 cwt. ($77/mt or $70/nt).
Other sources say that while demand for US domestic and import API X-42 ERW line pipe is “definitely trending a lot better than OCTG casing,” that ex-mill pricing is “mostly moot” at this point because “there is still plenty of pipe that’s already on the ground.”
In terms of current ex-mill pricing, US domestic API X-42 ERW line pipe spot market pricing is currently being heard in the approximate range of $45.00-$47.00 cwt. ($992-$1036/mt or $900-$940/nt), ex-Midwest mill; futures offers from Korean producers continue to be heard in the approximate range of $29.50-$31.50 cwt. ($650-$694/mt or $590-$630/nt), DDP loaded truck in US Gulf coast ports.