The attractiveness of plate imports into the EU continues to diminish amid higher prices and a looming investigation by the European Commission into some Asian mills of origin, note European plate buyers.
This has nevertheless not provided support for European domestic prices. After months of very little movement, a recovery is still not imminent, as demand is not picking up notably.
According to various sources, Asian-origin import offers have risen by more than €70/tonne ($77/t) in a matter of weeks. Shiploads arriving now are for orders placed in May at prices of €570/t cif Antwerp for S355 grade plate.
Adding supplementary costs for handling, reloading and transport, the delivered price would be €600/t or more, one mill source calculates.
“For new import orders you are looking at prices of €680/t, inching towards €700/t, and that’s where ordering from overseas makes no sense anymore,” he tells Kallanish.
By comparison, offers from European domestic integrated mills are still mostly in a range of €730-760/t for S355 delivered.
He notes that some volumes arriving at North Sea ports this quarter would still be available at old prices as “shiploads are never completely pre-sold”.
New orders, which would arrive in March at the earliest, cannot compete with domestic European mills’ prices.
One Dutch buyer notes that inventories at ports are still overloaded from incoming deliveries since August.
For intra-European trade opportunities, he points at Italy, where he says he could order at €700/t delivered, whereas deliveries from northern European mills would cost him €780/t.
Christian Koehl Germany
