Import rebar offers to the US for future arrival have remained relatively stable this week, although sources report deals on already-arrived rebar that in many cases beat current US domestic rebar prices.
Rebar inventory from Italy and Spain is reportedly available at Gulf-region ports in the range of $36.00-$37.00 cwt. ($794-$816/mt or $720-$740/nt) DDP loaded truck. However, supplies are dwindling, according to the latest US import license data.
Italy accounted for 72,792 mt (census data) of rebar imports in July, followed by 22,838 mt in rebar import permits for August, although there has been zero import permit tonnage recorded for September as of Sept. 11. Likewise, Spain accounted for 23,964 mt of rebar imports in July (census data), but then less than 100 mt in import permits for August and zero tonnage so far in September.
There are still significant import permits recorded from Turkey in August and September (49,702 mt and 19,062 mt, respectively), although most of that tonnage is subject to 50 percent import tariffs, and sources say traders are not willing to “dump” material for below cost.
Future arrival offers for Italian and Spanish rebar remain closer to $40.00 cwt. ($882/mt or $800/nt) DDP loaded truck at US Gulf ports, with Mexican offers continuing to trend slightly lower.