Affected by the short supply, the US cold-rolled stainless steel coils price rose further in the first half of August. Stimulated by this, US stainless steel mills increased their prices for the base and alloy surcharge. The base price was increased by US$70-80/ton at the end of July.

According to the producers in the US, the scheduled shipment still remained at 12 to16 weeks. In fact, the actual shipment was postponed by more than 4 weeks. The supply of cold-rolled coils was in a very shortage till the end of this year.

Asia's offer is cheaper, but the shipping cost is terribly high. According to understanding, the price gap is getting bigger between the market transaction price and mill ex-work price. The shortage of materials was expected to continue further at the end of this year.