IREPAS: US rebar demand slows down, but still relatively decent

During the SteelOrbis Fall 2012 Conference and 67th IREPAS Meeting held in Munich, Bernd Neuenkirchen from Coutinho & Ferrostaal Inc. said that the US market witnessed lively rebar sales in the first quarter of this year, as also proved by the significant rebar imports arriving from Turkey in this period, though since then rebar order activity in the country has diminished especially during the summer months amid a drop in demand levels.
 
Meanwhile, F.D. Baysal from Seba International told attendees at the event that the US market is characterized by a lack of large construction projects, while ongoing projects are limited to government projects, which means that they will not trigger rebar import flows to the US, since only domestic products can be used in state-backed projects.
 
However, traders participating at the conference reached consensus that US rebar demand is still decent, especially when compared to some other regions of the world, in particular Europe.