Pipe and tube
Overview
OCTG (oil country tubular goods) and Line Pipe pricing sits at the intersection of two complex markets – demand from the oil and gas industry and supply from steel markets.
Argus monitors and delivers key OCTG and line pipe price data while analysing supply and demand markets to produce detailed market reports and outlooks on pipe prices and market drivers.
Latest pipe and tube news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global pipe and tube industry.
US adds 151,000 jobs in February, unemployment up
US adds 151,000 jobs in February, unemployment up
Houston, 7 March (Argus) — The US added 151,000 nonfarm jobs in February and the unemployment rate ticked higher, but federal jobs fell, possibly reflecting the first of the mass layoffs launched by the new US administration. The job growth was under the 160,000 jobs forecast by analysts surveyed by Trading Economics. It followed upwardly revised job growth of 323,000 in January and downwardly revised growth of 125,000 in December, marking downward combined revisions of 2,000 reported Friday by the Labor Department. Monthly job gains averaged 168,000 over the prior 12 months. Unemployment rose to 4.1pc from 4pc. Average hourly earnings grew at a 4pc annual rate, down from 4.1pc in the prior period. Manufacturing added 10,000 jobs in February, with motor vehicles and parts adding 9,000 jobs. Mining and logging added 5,000. Health care added 52,000 jobs in February, financial activities added 21,000 jobs and transportation and warehousing added 18,000 jobs. Retail trade fell by 11,000. Federal jobs fell by 10,000 in February, possibly reflecting the first of the mass layoffs launched by the new US administration earlier last month. While federal government jobs fell, state and local government jobs grew by 20,000. The employment report comes one day after employment consultancy Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that US-based employers announced 172,000 job cuts in February, the highest for the month since 2009 , led by federal job cuts. Federal government job cuts totaled 62,242 announced by 17 different agencies as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s mass layoffs and contract cancellations, Challenger said. Most of the job cuts captured by Challenger were in the latter part of the month, while the government employment report is based on a survey that includes the pay period encompassing the 12th of the month. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Evraz raises US flat steel prices by $160/st
Evraz raises US flat steel prices by $160/st
Houston, 25 February (Argus) — US steelmaker Evraz North America has increased its flat steel prices by $160/short ton (st). The company announced the price move on all carbon plate, HSLA, hot-rolled coils (HRC), normalized plate, and quench and tempered plate products today. Evraz did not set a minimum price target. The price increase follows competitor Nucor's own $160/st discrete plate announcement yesterday to a published price of $1,235/st ex-works. That steelmaker also increased its HRC spot price by $40/st yesterday to $860/st, while competitor Cleveland-Cliffs increased its spot HRC price on 21 February by $100/st to $900/st. The US steel market has been reacting to threatened 25pc steel Section 232 national security tariffs, which President Donald Trump has put a 12 March deadline on reimposing on all US steel imports, eliminating current exemptions and tariff rate quota (TRQ) systems. By Rye Druzchetta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Nucor raises spot HRC price to $860/st
Nucor raises spot HRC price to $860/st
Houston, 24 February (Argus) — US steelmaker Nucor raised its spot hot-rolled coil (HRC) price by $40/short ton (st) this morning. Nucor's consumer spot price (CSP) was raised to $860/st for its mills outside of California, where prices were increased to $920/st. Lead times are 3-5 weeks. The Argus US HRC Midwest and southern assessments both increased by $70/st last week to $850/st ex-works. Nucor competitor Cleveland-Cliffs raised its spot HRC price by $100/st to $900/st on 21 February, after more than two months of unchanged published pricing. By Rye Druzchetta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US OCTG, line pipe imports drop for October
US OCTG, line pipe imports drop for October
Houston, 4 December (Argus) — US pipe and tube imports plunged in October. US OCTG volumes dropped by 71,900 metric tonnes (t) from the prior year to 67,600t in October, according to preliminary data from the US Department of Commerce. Shipments from Germany and Thailand plunged by 14,600t and 17,100t, respectively, from the prior year to essentially zero in October. South Korean volumes dropped by 18,800t to 9,600t, while Japanese shipments declined by 12,800t to 4,500t. Line pipe volumes dropped by 20,700t from the prior year to 68,100t for October. Lower volumes of unspecified diameter line pipe and line pipe of diameters of 16in or less led the declines in line pipe imports. Unspecified line pipe volumes dropped by 12,800t from the prior year to 21,400t, while 16in or less diameter line pipe volume fell by 13,600t to 23,000t. Vietnam's shipments of unspecified diameter line pipe dropped to near-zero from 7,200t the same period prior year. India's shipments of 16in or less diameter line pipe dropped by 4,400t from the prior year to near zero, while Romanian volumes dropped by 3,100t. Shipments of line pipe greater than 16in rose by 5,500t to 23,400t. By Rye Druzchetta US pipe and tube preliminary imports metric tonnes Product Oct-24 Oct-23 Difference ±% Sep-24 OCTG 67,596 139,489 -71,893 -51.5% 113,737 Line pipe 68,068 88,776 -20,708 -23.3% 85,865 Standard 61,568 69,400 -7,832 -11.3% 55,028 Heavy Structural Shapes 77,627 75,846 1,781 2.3% 40,560 US Department of Commerce; October 2024 data is preliminary data, which is subject to change. *Line pipe is all diameters. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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