Import long steel prices were reported steady to up slightly this week as a result of US-Iran war related heightened freight costs, and as import activity continues to show slow growth, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
According to preliminary steel import permit data reported by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), total import permits for March rose 6.6 percent versus those posted in February. Despite a growing likelihood for more imports later in Q2, actual imports for Jan-Feb 2026 period remain nearly 38 percent lower than one year ago, AISI said. Sharp declines in US imports as a result of ongoing steel tariffs has caused US mills to increase productive capacity to about 77.5 percent of capacity, insiders said, up nearly 6 percent from one year before.
“It feels like there is more opportunity developing for imports to come into the US,” remarked one Upper-Midwest based steel insider. “Long lead times at US mills, as they continue ramp up capacity in reaction to steel tariffs, seem to be making imports a more viable option.”
Despite 20-30 percent higher freight costs reported by contacts, several new cargoes of long steel from Korea were expected to begin dispatching material at US Gulf Coast ports, namely at Corpus Christie, Tx., Houston, Tx., and New Orleans, La. The import rebar supply was expected to be priced on a loaded truck basis at $44.00-45.00/cwt. ($880-900/nt or $970-992/mt).
“There are more than a few shipments to the US currently on the water,” reported a US Midwest-based long steel importer. “Once they arrive, we don’t expect them to have a significant impact on pricing, because of steel tariffs and because domestic and import pricing currently are so close (about $10/ton). Recent gaps in Gulf Coast rebar supply have been filled.”
On the US Gulf Coast, import rebar on a loaded truck basis rose $0.50/cwt. following an earlier $0.50/cwt., freight-related price adjustment to $45.00-46.00/cwt., ($900-920/nt or $992-$1,014/mt), up from $44.50-45.50/cwt., ($890-910/nt or $981-1,003/mt) one week earlier. US East Coast import rebar pricing on a loaded truck basis also rose $0.50/cwt. to $45.50-46.50/cwt., ($910-930/nt or $1,003-1,025/mt), up from $45.00-46/cwt., ($900-920/nt or $992-1,014/mt) one week ago.
Domestic rebar traders told SteelOrbis this week that increased output from two key US mills, Nucor, Lexington, Ky., and Hybar Steel, in Arkansas, was preventing US rebar prices from rising to the point where import material had much room to be competitive. This week, domestic rebar pricing fell for a fourth week by $0.50/cwt., to $46.00-47.00/cwt., ($920-940/nt or $1,014-1,036/mt) on an FOB mill basis, as US mills seek to lower the attractiveness of import material, they said.
In the wire rod markets, import wire rod mesh on a DDP loaded truck basis USG rose $0.50/cwt., to $47.00-48.00/cwt., ($940-960/nt or $1,036-1,058/mt), up from $46.50-47.50/cwt., ($930-950/nt or $1,025-1,047/mt) one week before.
On April 16, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI) futures for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) traded at $92-95/barrel (/bbl), off from $102/bbl reported one week earlier. Prior to the conflict on Feb. 27, 2026, WTI oil prices on NYMEX traded more than 40 percent less at $67/bbl.
