US merchant bar market – Import offers rise

Import merchant bar offers have registered a significant price increase in the past couple weeks, reflecting the global billet price increases. Import Turkish offers now range from $32.00 cwt. to $33.00 cwt. ($705 /mt to $728 /mt or $640 /nt to $660 /nt) FOB loaded-truck, US Gulf ports, a $2.50 cwt. ($55 /mt or $50 /nt) increase from our last report on June 22. Taiwanese merchant bar offers now range from $30.00 cwt. to $31.00 cwt. ($661 /mt to $683 /mt or $600 /nt to $620 /nt) FOB loaded-truck, in Gulf and West Coast ports, a $1.50 cwt. ($33 /mt or $30 /nt) increase from our last report. There has been no major acceptance of the Turkish numbers yet, and it is likely that these new levels are about as high as import merchant bar prices are going to climb. However, a portion of this increase is likely to stick, as the cost increases are real and the demand for merchant bar in the US remains strong, most likely because of the ongoing strength in the construction market. After this price increase takes hold, the import prices should stabilize for a while and eventually start to slowly go down in the fourth quarter. Domestically, the pricing trend for merchant bars is still up, also because of the demand from the construction sector. The domestic producers are full with both merchant bars and rebar production. Nucor's $8 /nt July surcharge was accepted by the market, and it is likely that we could see another Raw Material Surcharge increase in August, if shredded scrap sees another increase. For now, shredded scrap prices are stable. For the month of July, domestic merchant bar offers range from $30.90 cwt. to $38.45 cwt. ($681 /mt to $848 /mt or $618 /nt to $769 /nt), depending on size, shape and thickness.