US import rebar and wire rod pricing was steady to up a bit this week in limited trade as price increases from several US domestic steel mills were announced, market insiders told SteelOrbis this week.
As January scrap pricing rose, and while the Liberty Steel plant remains offline in Illinois, market insiders said Nucor announced January 14 it would increase wire rod pricing $30-50/nt. Competing long steel producers CMC and DeAcero later followed suit, they said.
As of press time, it remains unclear whether the market is willing to fully absorb recent mill price increases, especially given continued uncertainty over next week’s inauguration of Donald Trump as US president. Many are concerned imports could further decline if Trump goes ahead with plans to increase tariffs on US steel imports.
Trump has proposed 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, based on what he perceives as a failure on their part to control both the flow of illegal immigration and illegal drugs into the US, while China could see an additional 10 percent added to existing Section 232 tariffs because he feels China has done little to control the flow of fentanyl into the US, mostly through the southern border with Mexico.
“Last week saw sales okay, with some customers willing to book supply so they can receive it before January 20, to avoid any tariff hit to Mexico when the Trump administration takes over the power,” said one Mexican rebar market insider. “The latest price increases from Nucor, CMC and DeAcero have not yet received full attention since we just started offering at the new price level.”
“Overall, import supply remains limited,” the Mexican rebar insider said, “while competition among domestic producers has increased. It seems likely that prices (will) go up due to the last price increase for scrap seen on (January 10).
Midwest shredded scrap for January delivery in the Ohio Valley settled up $20/gt ($20/mt) to $395-400/gt ($401-406/mt), mostly as continued cold weather and snow complicated transportation of supply amid continued reports that scrap inventories remain low at scrap collection points, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
On the import rebar front, pricing remains steady with reported sales from Egypt on a delivered-to-customer basis at $36.50/cwt. ($730/nt or $805/mt). Insiders expect import pricing from Egypt to remain in the $36.50-37.00/cwt. range near term, with additional cargo bookings from Malaysia and Vietnam likely to keep prices from moving much higher.
On the US Gulf Coast, imported rebar remains priced at $35.75-36.75 cwt. ($715-735/nt or $788-810/mt) on a loaded truck basis, unchanged from earlier assessments, insiders said. Following earlier declines, rebar on an East Coast loaded truck basis is assessed steady again this week at $35.75-36.75/cwt. ($715-735/nt or $788-810/mt).
In the Mexican export markets, insider say buyers remain somewhat hesitant to engage with sellers as a result of tariff uncertainty.
Owing to recent $30-50/ton rebar price increases, Mexican rebar vicinity Houston on a loaded truck basis is discussed $37.50-39.50/cwt. ($750-790/nt or $827-871/mt), up from $35.75-36.75/cwt. ($715-735/nt or $788-810/mt) one week ago.
On the import wire rod mesh front, import material on a DDP loaded truck basis USG is discussed flat at $37.00/cwt. ($740/nt or $816/mt), following earlier weekly price strength as US markets moved higher amid uncertainty regarding the planned restart of the Liberty Steel wire rod plant in March, 2025.