Despite mill attempts to raise plate prices, spot prices for plate in the US market dipped $10/st Friday, and buy-side sources see continued weakness amid soft demand.
S&P Global Platts lowered its daily price assessment of A36 commodity plate to $660-$680/st ex-works southeastern US mill from $670-$690/st.
"Right now plate prices are around $34/cwt ($680/st) delivered. You can buy all you want at $34 delivered. They don't even care if its 20 st or 500 st," a service center source said.
Mills lowered prices before they raised prices $30-$40/st in mid-August, which nullified the impact of the price increases, the service center source said.
The service center source said he had a negative outlook for pricing for the rest of the year and will continue buying extra material to stock.
Another service center source agreed that prices have slid in the last several days, and it seemed the price increases were "fading quickly."
"I think anything is in play right now because demand is just horrible," he said.
The only positive news from a pricing standpoint was that ArcelorMittal USA notified customers that it will idle its Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, mill in the next year, the service center source said.
ArcelorMittal spokeswoman Mary Beth Holdford confirmed that the company would idle the rolling mill at Conshohocken in the next year because of the "limited demand from key manufacturers that build bridges, ships, tank cars, and military equipment, coupled with the ongoing surge of unfairly traded imports of steel."
The mill will still finish steel rolled at the company's other plate mills in Coatesville, Pennsylvania and Burns Harbor, Indiana.
"Additional investments in Burns Harbor and Coatesville will be made to efficiently accommodate the product transfer," Holdford said.
The service center source said, "I don't think it does much for the market, but any capacity out will certainly help."
Other buy-side sources affirmed that $680/st on a delivered basis was available. A distributor said he expected large tonnage orders could be had at a lower price, but he does not know who would be ready to buy now. "Now, I think most will wait and see how low they can take prices for year-end deals," he said.
A mill source on Friday said he heard that $680/st on a delivered basis was available, but he was also encouraged that one mill was trying to hold prices up. He said he heard spot at $710-$720/st delivered.
