US merchant bar market – Domestic and import markets await increase

Next week, Nucor will make its monthly pricing announcement for merchant bars, and with high demand and rising scrap prices, the market is strong enough to potentially move up by another $20 /nt ($22 /mt or $1.00 cwt.). For now, domestic prices range from $30.50 cwt. ($672 /mt or $610 /nt) to $38.05 cwt. ($839 /mt or $761 /nt) depending on size, shape, and thickness. The domestic pricing trend is still up because of the strong demand for merchant bars, coming mainly from the residential and non-residential construction sectors. The import market is moving up as well; in the past two weeks, Taiwanese offering prices have increased by $0.50 cwt. ($11 /mt or $10 /nt), now ranging from $28.50 cwt. to $29.50 cwt. ($628 /mt to $650 /mt or $570 /nt to $590 /nt) Duty paid ex-dock, Los Angeles. The import trend for merchant bars is now strongly up. As reported by SteelOrbis this week, billet prices in major import source Turkey have recently increased by $20 /mt. These higher prices for semi-finished steel will eventually translate into higher merchant bar prices. For now, Turkish offers range from $28.50 cwt. to $29.50 cwt. ($628 /mt to $650 /mt or $570 /nt to $590 /nt) FOB, loaded truck, in US Gulf ports. Although it used to be a major market for small sections from Turkey, currently Turkish mills are finding very little business in the Southern California area because of the dominance of Taiwanese offers on the West coast.