World Steel Dynamics has just released its World Cost Curve for Wire Rod and Billet - a new online and interactive system that tracks 300 steel mills from around the world.
For December 2012, the median cost to produce billet is pegged at $507 per metric ton (mt), including plant overhead. The difference in cost from the first to the fourth quartile is $152 per mt. The cost curve for billet includes 86 million mt of capacity in China and 130 million mt elsewhere.
The median cost to produce wire rod is estimated to be $547 per mt. The difference in cost from the first to the fourth quartile is $158 per mt. The data includes 51 million mt of capacity in China and 70 million mt elsewhere.
