Shortage of Imports Affecting Supply of CTL Plate

Steel Market Update was speaking with one of the plate mills regarding their maintenance schedules and order books, which we reported on in Thursday evening’s issue of our SMU newsletter. During the conversation, there was a discussion about what was causing the tightness in the marketplace, and the mill mentioned the drastically lower plate imports in 2017 and 2018 compared to what was seen in 2014-2015.

An executive with one of the plate service centers told us, “Price drivers and supply – I’m possibly in the minority that believe that while Section 232 has given a boost to plate prices, it all started the year prior with the 12 AD/CVD case rulings. That knocked many out long before 232, and while I can see something with Mex/Canada and the EU getting done in the next six months, I still don’t believe it will result in a rush of imports. The major importers we will see in the next six months will be the Ukraine, and of course Korea.”