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After rising a modest $2/ton (0.1%) in March, April OCTG prices fell back a similar $3/ton or 0.1% to $1,913/ton, according to data released by Pipe Logix.

The seeming anomaly of weak pricing in a strong drilling environment is due to a meaningful increase in supply, largely from a 225% jump in imports over the past few years. March quarter OCTG imports rose 30%, lifting import market share to 62% in the 1Q, the highest since 1Q 2009, the quarter before the landmark Chinese trade case was filed. Chinese imports have largely been replaced now with tonnage from Korea, where imports have grown some 167%.

Our full report is available to subscribers and provides further thoughts on OCTG pricing and margins as well as the implications for shares of OCTG producers.

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