Diminished imports fail to boost EU plate prices
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
US confirms AD determination on French plate
The US Department of Commerce has settled upon an antidumping margin of 0.0% for cut-to-length carbon and steel plate from French producer Dillinger France.
The determination is consistent with Commerce’s preliminary assessment, Kallanish learns from the Federal Register.
Commerce found that during the period of review, May 2022 through April 2023, the producer made no shipments.
The subject products under review fall into the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the US (HTSUS) subheadings 7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 7208.51.0030, 7208.51.0045, 7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 7211.14.0045, 7225.40.1110, 7225.40.1180, 7225.40.3005, 7225.40.3050, 7226.20.0000, 7226.91.5000, 7208.40.6060, 7208.53.0000, 7208.90.0000, 7210.70.3000, 7210.90.9000, 7211.19.1500, 7211.19.2000, 7211.19.4500, 7211.19.6000, 7211.19.7590, 7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, 7214.10.0000, 7214.30.0010, 7214.30.0080, 7214.91.0015, 7214.91.0060, 7214.91.0090, 7225.11.0000, 7225.19.0000, 7225.40.5110, 7225.40.5130, 7225.40.5160, 7225.40.7000, 7225.99.0010, 7225.99.0090, 7226.11.1000, 7226.11.9060, 7226.19.1000, 7226.19.9000, 7226.91.0500, 7226.91.1530, 7226.91.1560, 7226.91.2530, 7226.91.2560, 7226.91.7000, 7226.91.8000 and 7226.99.0180.
Kristen DiLandro USA
Italian plate producers seek increases
Italian heavy plate producers are increasing prices by €30/tonne ($32) compared to last month for S275 and S355 grades. Sources tell Kallanish the market is quiet due to the sector’s August hiatus.
Local re-rollers are requesting €700/t ex-works for S275 grade and approximately €730-740/t for S355. Last month, they made significant efforts to lower their prices, resulting in import offers no longer being competitive.
According to a mill source, prices have hit rock bottom and are expected to rise in upcoming contracts. Given the current cost of production and imported slab values, it is evident that July contract prices are not sustainable for producers, as they are operating with minimal profit margins. Certain producers are starting to reject selling at the low levels seen in July.
During July, customers of all sizes showed a reluctance to make purchases, and sales volumes have been consistent but low. Various buyers took advantage of competitive import prices in June, resulting in a decline in local sales volumes. Last month, the cost of Asia-origin material was at around €600-620/t cfr Italy.
According to information from distributors, there is a continued stagnation in demand downstream. The current booking price for Asian slab is at approximately $550/t cfr Italy. However, for larger volumes, there are discussions about a slightly lower price of $540/t cfr. As of now, domestic S275 grade transactions are taking place at approximately €650-660/t ex-works in Italy. S355 is meanwhile being traded at around €680/t, sources suggest.
Natalia Capra France
Northwest European plate price takes another dip
Prices of commodity plate on the northwestern European market dwindled further throughout July. The assumption expressed by most market players in June, that the bottom line had been reached, has been proven wrong once more.
“Prices for plate have not reached the bottom, even if it looks close,” one observer stated in mid-July. By then, prices had already slid by roughly another €50/tonne ($54) from June’s level, which saw offers of S355 from integrated mills dip below €800/t ex-works. He now sees S235 at below the mark of €700/t – at €680/t. This would match with another observer’s information that the higher, S355 grade is being offered by one German mill at €730/t delivered Ruhr.
These observations are not necessarily shared by active buyers and other sources. “I have not heard those offers from integrated mills yet,” one buyer who focuses on domestic quarto plate tells Kallanish. He confirms those prices only for Italian offers. One mill source concurs with the buyer, confirming that Italian offers for northern markets are at below €700/t, while northern domestic mills are keeping offers at above that level.
According to the same observer, northwestern mills have sufficient “project business” for higher plate grades and sizes, and have reasonably well filled orderbooks, with six weeks’ delivery.
Christian Koehl Germany
