Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest integrated mill and a leading H-beam producer, has decided to roll over its H-beam prices for July domestic spot sales, to give another month for the market to absorb the previous hikes, but it aims to start lifting prices again to transfer higher costs, the company announced on July 21.
Nippon Steel Structural Shapes, Nippon Steel’s subsidiary in Wakayama in western Japan, has also kept its H-beam prices for this month unchanged. And it plans to slash about 30% of acceptance of orders compared to those in July, because output will decline due to its planned shutdown in summer, according to the company.
Both companies had last added Yen 5,000/tonne ($36/t) for April sales, but kept the prices unchanged for May and June, as reported.
Nippon Steel and Nippon Steel Structural Shapes do not reveal their list prices, but as of Thursday, deals for SS400 grade 200x100mm H-beams in Tokyo were transacted at Yen 123,000-124,000/t, up Yen 3,000/t on month, sources shared.
“Producers are planning to lift prices further, claiming higher costs amid the depreciation of Japanese Yen, so we’ll have to continue prioritizing our prices. And we basically understand that H-beam market condition is not bad with balanced stocks and expected firm demand from autumn, so buyers will agree on higher prices to secure the material,” a Tokyo-based distributor predicted.
By the end of June, H-beam stocks held by Nippon Steel’s Tokiwakai group of some 90 distributors across Japan totaled 188,400 tonnes, down 4.3% on year but mostly flat on month, according to the company.
Meanwhile, Nippon Steel plans to negotiate with those project-based customers to add another Yen 5,000/t for its H-beam products. The total hike for project-based H-beams since April had reached Yen 35,000/t including the higher adjustment for extra charges, according to the company.
Written by Yoko Manabe, yoko.manabe@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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