US rebar market - Import offers from Taiwan and Japan get competitive

Asking prices for import rebar have gone up by $0.50 cwt. ($11 /mt or $10 /nt) since last week as the world market trend continues to rise. Import rebar offers now range from $23.50 cwt. to $24.50 cwt. ($518 /mt to $540 /mt or $470 /nt to $490 /nt) FOB loaded truck in US Gulf ports. Turkey is still the leading exporter of rebar to the US, but they are no longer the only country offering competitive prices. We are finally starting to see Taiwanese and Japanese mills get more competitive with their export pricing. Turkish numbers are still lower, but Taiwan and Japan are slowly catching up. According to US government license data, in March 2006 (thus far), the top five exporters of rebar to the US were: Turkey, exporting 118'094 mt; Taiwan, exporting 37'223 mt; Mexico, exporting 17'503 mt; Japan, exporting 15'084; and the Czech Republic, exporting 15'004 mt. Offering prices from Mexico are closer to domestic levels. Czech Republic is not a current player in US import market due to strong European market. Domestic prices have not changed since last week, as US mills are still keeping prices stable in order to deflect foreign competitors. However, import offers are still being consumed by US customers because demand is high and there is not quite enough domestic rebar to go around. The domestic trend is still neutral, but eventually, tight domestic inventories and rising import prices will most likely push prices slightly up. Domestic prices still range from $24.25 cwt. to $25.25 cwt. ($535 /mt to $557 /mt or $485 /nt to $505 /nt) FOB mill. Extras change from one domestic producer to another and vary depending on bar size, grade, and length. The smallest rebar size, #3 (9.5 mm) fetches the highest extra.