Metal Bulletin Research (MBR), has been trackingthe developments in the large-diameter linepipe markets for more than a decade and have notseen such a strong turnaround in this market over that time as we are witnessing now. Despite the strength in drilling rates in North America, activity in the large OD linepipe market over the past one to two years has been weaker than expected, leading to extremely low utilization rates at domestic mills. Usually, increased drilling rates predate the development of gathering line and pipeline infrastructure by 6-12 months. In this current drilling boom, the drilling has gone far ahead with pipeline construction lagging by a number of years.
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