US import long steel pricing remained stable this week, even as the first price increases from domestic mills since early September have caused domestic rebar prices to inch higher. Insiders told SteelOrbis if domestic pricing continues to advance, it could make imports a more attractive alternative to scant domestic supplies as supply allocations continue from mills, though time will tell, they said.
Insiders added that recent actions by the US Supreme Court to restrict US President Trump’s authority to use 50 percent Section 232 steel tariffs to limit the movement of cheap imports into the US, could cause imports activity to surge. A decision is expected by late-June 2026, according to media reports.
“Right now, supply and demand [in the US] are about even,” remarked an East Coast importer to SteelOrbis “But, people hate being on [supply] allocation from the mills, and the mills are saying that that it isn’t going to go away.” He continued, “Since companies can’t operate without bar, and the mills are telling people that it isn’t going to get better, imports will increase for the spring, especially, since [import] pricing is now the same or slightly less than domestic pricing.”
On the US Gulf Coast, import rebar pricing on a loaded truck basis was reported steady to week-earlier levels at $44.00-46.00/cwt., ($880-920/nt or $970-1,014/mt), though still up from $44.00-45.50/cwt., ($880-910/nt or $970-1,003/mt) three weeks earlier amid reports of shrinking supply availability at Gulf Coast warehouses. On the US East Coast, import rebar on a loaded truck basis remains stable for a fifth week at $44.00-46.00/cwt., ($880-920/nt or $970-1,014/mt). Limited reports of import rebar sales at $47.00/cwt., were noted recently, though insiders said they remain limited.
In the US domestic rebar markets, pricing rose $1.50/cwt., to $46.00-47.00/cwt., ($920-940/nt or $1,014-1,036/mt), the first such increase since prices rose $1.00/cwt., during the week of Sept. 1. Long expected mill price increase announcements from Nucor and later, CMC, dominated market chatter this week.
“On the US East Coast, we’re seeing some limited import activity from Egypt and some Arab countries,” the steel importer said. “And while we’re currently not seeing (long steel) coming in from Turkey per se, the market could get interesting if the Supreme Court rules against Trump on tariffs this year.”
“If the High Court rules that Trump doesn’t have tariff authority over Congress, and we have to pay all the tariff proceeds back, imports will flood the market,” he said. “Hang on, because it’s going to be a wild ride.”
Media reports indicate President Trump said tariff proceeds thus far are substantial. “Trump claimed this week that if the tariffs are deemed illegal by the Court under the 1977 International Economic Power Act, the refund process could exceed $3 trillion,” he said. “The justices were given wrong numbers about the repayment costs,” Trump said in the reports.
At issue is whether Trump had the authority to sidestep Congress in enacting Section 232 steel tariffs, initially claiming the global fees were a necessary part of controlling immigration and stemming the flow of deadly fentanyl into the US, mainly from Mexico and Canada. The later use of reciprocal tariffs, Trump says, are necessary to address a “national emergency that has developed over the trade deficit.” And while reciprocal tariffs in many cases have been negotiated lower, steel tariffs remain in place at 50 percent levels, sharply reducing key imports of steel and steel products from the US’ key trade partners Mexico and Canada.
On the import wire rod front, US Gulf Coast import pricing for wire rod mesh on a DDP loaded truck basis remained steady for yet another week at $42.00-43.00/cwt., ($840-860/nt or $926-948/mt). Insiders told SteelOrbis they expect wire rod pricing to advance on par with rising rebar values, especially since new facilities in the US South and Southeast remain at less than full capacity as plants continue to ramp up production.
While action on tariffs will be heightened through mid-2026, the outlook for Q1 long steel pricing could be staged for a shorter-term increase. Short -term weather forecasts from the US National Weather Service indicate a developing La Nina weather pattern across the US could cause colder and wetter early-winter weather across much of the US Midwest and Northeast, where many key steel production and scrap processing facilities are located. The US South and Southeast regions are expected to see warmer and drier weather as well as drought as a result of La Nina, the NWS report says. Last year, winter storms and extreme cold temperatures throughout the Midwest and Southeast, complicated the transportation of steel and scrap, leading to higher local steel prices and delayed deliveries, as roads, rails, and rivers were closed because of snow and ice.
