Prices for domestic beams in the United States have risen after recent mill hikes were passed through to the marketplace, while import beam prices dipped on confirmed lower-priced purchases from Luxembourg, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
Fastmarkets AMM assessed the price for domestic W8x8-in beams at $43.25 per hundredweight ($865 per short ton) fob mill on Thursday February 28, up 3.6% from the previous price of $41.75 per cwt. At the same time, the price for imported beams widened downward to $740-800 per ton ($37-40 per cwt) delivered duty paid Port of Houston, declining by 3.8% from $780-820 per ton previously. Mill hikes take effect, but winter weather weighs on demandNucor, Gerdau and Steel Dynamics Inc raised their prices for wide-flange and standard beam products by $30 per ton in mid-February, and sources credited those increases for moving the spot market price higher.Notably, those same mills had cut their beam prices last October, shortly before the spot price fell from a multiyear high of $43.50 per cwt. Fastmarkets' assessment held at that level between late June and late October 2018, and the current price falls just 25 cents short...