Nippon Steel Announces Steel Tube Price Hike by 5% for January-March

Nippon Steel launches price hike for all steel tube products by 5% effective for January-March outputs. The firm seems to have started the announcement against dealers and users. The hike covers all steel tube items including forge welding tube, electric resistance welded tube, seamless tube, UO pipe and bending rolled tube. Nippon Steel aims selling price improvement mainly for dealers and building materials. The firm is highly likely to implement additional hike in or after April if steel tube demand maintains steady from energy industry and raw material prices continue to rise.

Domestic steel tube demand is estimated at 750,000 tonnes per quarter, which maintains 75% of pre-shock level. Two-thirds of the demand is for dealers and building materials while the demand recovery is only 70% of pre-shock level. The demand from manufacturing industry recovered earlier. Meanwhile, new starts of houses and non-residential structures upturned in mid 2010 with restarts of large-size building and plant projects mainly around Tokyo.

In 2010, supply and demand balance of steel tube became loose due to speculated demand generation along rising raw material prices. Steel tube makers and dealers advanced inventory adjustment in and after mid 2010. Currently the adjustment phase seems to have finished. Overseas steel market prices turned to rise along global demand growth. Nippon Steel is trying to raise selling price of steel sheet, plate and H-beam as well as steel tube.