Each month, as a free member benefit, ASA publishes the ASA Commodities Report, which provides updates and analysis on nine metals and plastics categories — all written by members of ASA’s Industrial Piping Division. Here an excerpt from the most recent report:

Carbon steel fittings and flanges

Overview

Market activity for carbon steel fittings and flanges remains healthy. Prices continue to have an upward bias.

Prices

As reported last month, both TFA and Hackney announced price increases on WPB weld fittings of about 10%. This has been followed by a similar price increase by Weldbend on Feb 1. With respect to A105 flanges, Boltex has announced an approximate 9% increase on commodity items, to be effective March 1. Generic import prices remain stable, with pocket increases still in effect primarily on ells.

Shipping costs

Shipping costs are showing signs of slight improvements, both in price and deliveries.

Deliveries

Remain unchanged from last month’s report: Generic import fittings and flanges are ranging from 6-9 months, with flanges on the low side of the range. Domestic WPB and A105 deliveries are mixed, from stock to 4 months depending on manufacturer and item mix.

How can I access these reports?

ASA members can access the monthly commodities report by logging into their MyASA account at www.asa.net/myasa.