Southland Tube Inc. has reduced the amount of a recently announced price hike for hollow structural sections (HSS) to $30 per ton ($1.50 per hundredweight) from a previously announced increase of $50 per ton ($2.50 per cwt).

“The uncertainty in the marketplace regarding raw material costs and the resulting doubts surrounding the March 5, 2013, $50/ton HSS price increase announcement make it necessary to revise the amount of the increase to $30/ton,” the Birmingham, Ala.-based company said in a letter to customers March 6. “We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused you.”

Southland had followed a leading move by Atlas Tube Inc., a subsidiary of Chicago-based JMC Steel Group Inc (amm.com, March 5).

The HSS increases come after most large flat-rolled steelmakers recently announced price hikes of $50 per ton (amm.com, Feb. 27).