Research

Forecasts and market analysis based on price assessments from Fastmarkets MB and Fastmarkets AMM

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April 2009 | Galvanized Steel and Tinplate Market Tracker


Price erosion continued in April: American Market Highlights


End-use sector data in Q1 was dismal

Prices of HDG continued to weaken through April. Current HDG prices for 1mm material with a G90 coating are around $600/ton ($660/tonne) on an ex-works Midwest basis.

However, we believe that we are close to, and may indeed be at, the bottom.
Imports remain at low levels (down by 22% year-on-year in January-February 2009). Although offshore material is still priced at a discount and falling, long lead times make it relatively unattractive. Chinese material is now competitive at around $550-580/tonne cif for 1mm material with more offers, but few transactions.

Inventory depletion may end in May/June...

While demand remains very weak – see below – we believe that inventories may finally stabilise in June. First quarter shipments of carbon flat rolled products from distributors were steady at around 70,000 tons/day. While this is down by 40% year-on-year, there does appear to have been some stability in...

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