Chapter 1 North America

摘要

US plate prices have fallen by almost 100 US dollars/s.ton over the last three months and now sit below 800 US dollars/s.ton. Continued competition from imports, lower sheet prices and a sharp reduction in scrap costs are behind the decline. Despite some more recent evidence of a slowdown in the US manufacturing sector, real demand fundamentals for plate end-using sectors remain positive. Nonetheless, the market imbalance and lower raw materials costs mean that plate prices will not recover until 2013.