After announcing last week a $2.50 cwt. ($50/nt or $55/mt) price increase for merchant bar products (including most angles, channels, flats, rounds and squares), Gerdau issued an announcement late Thursday—when the increase was to take effect—that the increase will be delayed.
The company said that after monitoring the impact of rising production costs, it has decided to postpone the increase until “input markets settle and a clearer picture is in view.”
Other US domestic merchant bar mills did not issue similar increase announcements at the time. As such, published prices for benchmark merchant bar products will continue to be as follows:
| Shape/Size | cwt. | net tons | metric tons |
| Flat bar 2 x 1/4”: | $31.40 | $628 | $692 |
| Angle 2 x 2 x 1/4”: | $30.05 | $601 | $662 |
| Square bar 1”: | $30.00 | $600 | $661 |
| Round bar 1”: | $31.45 | $629 | $693 |
| Channels standard C 3 x 4.1 | $31.00 | $620 | $683 |