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US hot rolled coil (HRC) prices continued their five week decline, weighing on demand along with short lead times and ample supply.
The Argus weekly domestic US HRC Midwest assessment fell by $51.25/short ton (st) to $1,312/st, while the southern assessment fell by $51.75/st to $1,312/st. HRC prices have fallen by 13pc since hitting their peak of $1,500/st between 5-19 April.
HRC lead times in the Midwest were flat at 3-4 weeks, with most flat-rolled steel mills reportedly still in mid-June.
Offers were heard in a wide range between $1,200-1,400/st, with most in the $1,300/st range.
One mill reported selling between $1,360-1,440/st, with another one receiving inquiries of $1,280-1,300/st.
A service center reported that a structural fabricator customer had their backlog halved, with at least a portion of that because Amazon is reducing investments into building new warehouses.
In its first quarter earnings released in April Amazon said it "excess capacity in our fulfillment and transportation network" and that in 2020 and early 2021 it made the decision "to not let space be a constraint on our business."
The company now is working to cut back on its warehouse expenditures after overbuilding, with Amazon spending approximately $18bn on fulfillment center warehouses in the 12 months leading to 31 March.
It is uncertain how much the decision by Amazon will reduce overall steel demand. In the last year electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaker Nucor has spent $445mn to buy two steel racking companies and recently spent $3bn to purchase overhead door manufacturer CHI Overhead Doors.
The Argus HRC import assessment into Houston dropped by $55/st to $1,000/st ddp.
The spread between #1 busheling scrap delivered US Midwest mills and HRC selling prices fell by 6.8pc to $703/st. A year ago the spread was $1,053/st, when the US market was becoming superheated amid supply-side issues.
The Argus weekly domestic US cold-rolled coil (CRC) assessment dropped by $72/st to $1,713.75/st, while the hot dipped galvanized (HDG) coil assessment declined by $59.50/st to $1,722.50/st.
Price offers for CRC and HDG were said to be as low as $1,600/st, with the offer range up to $1,760/st.
Lead times for CRC rose to 7 weeks from 6-7 weeks while HDG lead times rose to 7-8 weeks from 6-7 weeks.
The CME HRC Midwest futures market was mostly flat in the last week as the market worked to find direction. July future pricing was flat at $1,040/st, while August futures edged up by $5/st to $1,025/st. September futures slipped by $9/st to $1,000/st, while October futures fell by $17/st to $960/st. November pricing edged down by $4/st to $941/st.
Plate
The Argus weekly domestic US ex-works plate assessment rose by $50/st to $1,860/st as Nucor lowered its offer price by $50/st and opened up its July books.
The plate delivered assessment also fell by $50/st to $1,912.50/st. Lead times rose to 6-9 weeks from 5-7 weeks.
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- [Editor:kangmingfei]
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