Secondary Structure Market Sees Price Increase Amid Supply Chain Pressures; RINL Prices Down

Key Insights

• Secondary Price Trends: Secondary market prices show mixed trends. Raipur, Mandi, and Durgapur up, while Hyderabad and Chennai remain stable.
• Primary Market Status: SAIL has rolled over prices, but RINL has reduced prices by Rs 700/mt. JSPL rates are pending.
• Supply and Demand Issues: SAIL IISCO plant's maintenance and limited RINL stock are contributing to supply disruptions. Heavy structures are in high demand.
• Secondary Market Weakness: Limited demand in the secondary market due to low trade and NGT construction restrictions.
• Steel Industry Struggles: Cheap Chinese imports and unsold inventory are impacting India's steel mills, affecting production and employment.

Structure Price

• Secondary Market: Raipur up by Rs 300, Mandi up by Rs 100, Durgapur up by Rs 200, Hyderabad and Chennai stable.

• Primary market: As per this month’s price revision, SAIL rolled over the rates, RINL down price by Rs 700/mt & JSPL rates expected to come in 2-3 days.

• The offers for 100 x 50 Channel in the Secondary Steel market are as follows:

• Ex-Raipur: Rs 45,900/mt

• Ex-Hyderabad: Rs. 46,800/mt

• Ex-Raigarh: Rs 45,900/mt

• Ex-Chennai: Rs. 47,200/mt

• Ex-Mandi Gobindgarh: Rs. 46,800/mt

• Ex-Durgapur: Rs. 43,900/mt

• The offers for 100 x 50 Channel in the Primary Structural Steel market are as follows:

• Ex-Durgapur: Rs. 55,250/mt

• Ex-Chennai: Rs. 58,750/mt

• Ex-Hyderabad: Rs. 57,250/mt

• Ex-Ahmedabad: Rs. 57,750/mt

• Ex-Ghaziabad: Rs. 55,750/mt

Structure Supply and Demand

• Primary: Heavy structures are in high demand throughout India and are offered at premium prices, depending on availability, as a result of the SAIL IISCO plant undergoing maintenance. The availability of source materials has now been significantly impacted by this. The second week of this month is when delivery is anticipated to take place. The sole source of RINL round bar is currently out of stock which means delivery is anticipated to start in the second or third week of this month. In addition, there aren't many JSPL Sections, and their turnaround time for content is four to six weeks. In the primary segment, supply is therefore a significant problem.
• Secondary: Secondary mills are not worried about material shortages, since they have a sufficient supply of both raw materials and completed output. Even if there is a shortage of scrap, they cannot make new stock. India has very little demand in the secondary market, aside from the NGT's restriction on construction due to pollution and limited trade demand. At the moment, there is less demand for the mills.

Structure News

• Indian steel mills struggle amid cheap Chinese imports. India's construction boom was expected to boost steel sales, but mills like those of Jogindra Group in Punjab are facing unsold inventory. A surge in cheap Chinese steel imports has forced smaller mills to cut back on production and consider job reductions.
• As the world’s second-largest steel producer, India became a net importer last fiscal year, raising concerns about the impact on future infrastructure projects and steel-reliant industries.

Expert Opinion

• Since the SAIL IISCO factory is set to begin production in the second week of this month, SAIL prices are rolling over this month. This indicates that the primary supply issue has been handled, even though secondary prices seem to be declining owing to poor demand and inexpensive Chinese imports.