Carbon steel pipe has seen unprecedented increases over the past three weeks. The president’s announcement of a tariff on imported steel products has caused an immediate increase of at least 25% on all imported steel pipe. Domestic product has seen increases ranging from 22% to 60% depending on size.
Hot rolled coil (HRC) is climbing and currently trading at close to $900/ton with many experts predicting prices north of $1,000/ton in the near future. The result is that mills only are working with long-standing customers and lead times are growing, creating shortages on some sizes with more to come.