US import rebar and wire rod pricing was steady to lower this week amid a growing market outlook for lower US scrap pricing for May, amid continued concerns over steel tariffs and issues with the movement of commodities on Chinese ships, market insiders told SteelOrbis.
Insiders said imports into the US are likely to remain minimal in the near term because many countries previously exempt from tariffs under the Biden administration are now subject to minimum 25 percent import tariffs on steel and aluminum.
“As US scrap prices decline for May, even as domestic supplies remain tight with the Liberty plant still offline, it is questionable whether these current prices are sustainable,” said one long steel import insider. “Like what we saw in US flat steel pricing, I’m hearing long steel pricing remains fairly stable, but leaning lower,” he said. “We may have peaked for now on long steel import pricing.”
Imported rebar on a loaded truck basis at the US Gulf Coast and US East Coast remains flat amid limited US demand at $36.50-38.50 cwt. ($730-770/nt or $805-849/mt), or on average $37.50/cwt., versus $37.00-38.00/cwt. ($740-760/nt or $816-838/mt) three weeks earlier. May import shipments from Egypt, Algeria and Vietnam for June-July delivery into the US Gulf Coast are discussed flat yet again at $38.00-39.00/cwt. ($760-780/nt or $838-860/mt).
In the Mexican long steel export market, trading remains quiet and slow as 25 percent tariffs limit available trade opportunities. Import rebar on a loaded truck basis vicinity Houston, Texas, from available US stock is reported slightly lower at $36.75-38.75/cwt. ($735-775/nt or $810-854/mt), versus week-earlier trades at $37.00-39.00/cwt. ($740-780/nt or $816-860/mt), market insiders told SteelOrbis.
The import insider added that as Section 232 steel tariffs of 25 percent are now in effect, import shipments on rebar from North Africa, Malaysia, and Vietnam are likely to rise as buyers adjust their supply chains to make up the supply shortfall from previous lower-priced sales originating out of Bulgaria and the Ukraine. Those steel deliveries were previously exempt from import tariffs. “While some import buyers are not booking because of the tariffs, we’re not yet seeing a shortage of sales out of Eygpt,” he said. “However, we are expecting to see a price correction later in April or May.”
In other import rebar markets, pricing for import rebar on a CFR, free-out basis at the US Gulf Coast was discussed on average $5/mt ($5/nt) less at $615-635/nt, off from $620-640/nt one week earlier. Insiders said June scrap prices could be bolstered as increased purchases are made to cover the rebar production that is expected to commence at the new 600,000 ton per year Hybar rebar mill in Osceola, Arkansas.
The price of imported wire rod mesh on a DDP loaded truck basis remained flat this week as a result of solid domestic sales, even as the status of the downed Liberty Steel plant still remains uncertain. Pricing is last assessed unchanged at $37.50-39.50/cwt. ($750-790/nt or $827-871/mt).
“The shipping markets are in a tense calm,” remarked another Gulf Coast long steel importer to SteelOrbis. Recently, US president Trump released a plan through the US Trade Representative to assess Chinese ships a $50/nt fee based on a ships’ gross weight. The fee, which may go into effect on October 14, would increase $30/nt over the next three years.
Insiders told SteelOrbis the new plan is seen as less disruptive than an earlier version put forth by the US Trade Representative in March calling for port fees ranging from $1.5-3.5 million per Chinese ship per port call.
“The new plans mostly target larger ships,” the insider said of the new proposed Chinese shipping fees. “Overall, my shipping contacts tell me the fees are not as bad as originally thought,” he said. “Most lower weight ships will be exempt, and it won’t really affect steel. There is also a 180-day adjustment period, so no one is going to turn into a pumpkin waiting for the steel deliveries to arrive.”
