Page 13 - ITAtube Journal 2 2025

less tubes were particularly aff ected, with
production falling by a further -14%. CIS
cut -2% of its total tube production in 2024
after a strong year in 2023.
China, which accounts for around 54%
of the world’s total tube production, cut
production by -10% in 2024, returning
to normal levels seen in previous years
(Figure 9).
Tube and pipe manufacturers purchase
hot-rolled coils, round billets or plates as
the raw material for their production lines.
72% of the total global pipe production is
welded tubes and pipes, which equates
to around 116 million tonnes per year in
2024. Welded tube producers are there-
fore highly dependent on attractive hot-
rolled coil prices, while large OD (>406 mm
diameter) pipeline producers are depend-
ent on plate prices. The average price of
hot-rolled coils in the US fell from approx-
imately 1,130 USD/ton in January 2024 to
approximately 740 USD/ton in February
2025 (Figure 10). Since then, hot-rolled coil
prices have increased to around 900 USD/
tonne. Some countries (see Figure 8), such
as Turkey (USD 520/tonne) and India (USD
535/tonne), trade at much lower prices
for hot-rolled strip. Welded tube produc-
ers that create little added value with few
unique selling points suff er from high
hot-rolled coil prices, which erode their
margins.
Figure 11 shows the HRC prices for some
selected regions. When the price diff er-
ence between HRC and fi nished structural
tubes and pipes of type S 235 is compared
on a Turkish basis, it becomes obvious
how small the margins for producers of
such tubes are. There are even periods
when margins are negative.
Furthermore, tube producers suff er
from shortages of special tube materials.
Special alloyed HRC, as used for OCTG
tubes and pipes for example, is traded at
signifi cantly higher prices.
The average price of billet for seamless
tubes is around 490 USD/ton.
In 2025, almost all tubular pre-material
prices decreased. Nevertheless, it remains
challenging to predict price developments
for these materials.
ITAtube Journal August 2025
Market information
Figure 10: Hot-Rolled Coil Steel prices 1 Year until July 2025
Source: tradingeconomics.com
Figure 11: Hot-Rolled Coil Steel prices for selected countries until July 2025
Source: Kallanish.com
The major driver of the tube and pipe
industry is the oil and gas market, which
represents around 51% of global tube
and pipe production. Consumption of
OCTG tubes is directly related to the oil
price (see fi gure 12 and previous tube
market reviews). Over the past few years,
OPEC+ has unsuccessfully attempted to
maintain an oil price of at least 90 USD/
Bbl. by implementing voluntary supply
cuts of 2 million Bbl./day. These cuts
were prolonged until March 2025 earlier
this year in an attempt to stabilise the oil
price. Since then, however, OPEC+ has
changed its strategy, increasing daily oil
production in several stages. OPEC+ has
now even decided to completely reverse
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