While demand for wire rod in the US continues to trend tepid, import material has continued to arrive at US ports, much of it positions that importers are finding difficulty placing. According to the latest US import steel data, wire rod import permits for October (as of Oct. 29) have totaled 62,248 mt, compared to 49,406 mt in preliminary census totals for September. Sources noted that much of that total, especially from Japan and Brazil, consists of higher-grade wire rod, but there are enough mesh-grade positions available that importers are reportedly offering deals to clear out inventory.
However, sources say even deals slightly below current offer prices (for future arrivals) are “not low enough” to mitigate weak demand. Importers continue to find difficulty booking orders from Malaysia, with offers in the range of $28.50-$29.00 cwt. ($628-$639/mt or $570-$580/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports, and from Germany, still at $29.00-$29.50 cwt. ($639-$650/mt or $580-$590/nt) DDP loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Both offers are unchanged in the last week.