Although spot prices within the US domestic wire rod market have trended stable this week, sources say they are concerned about possible supply disruptions from Hurricane Florence. The storm, downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane late Thursday, is expected to hit the US East coast tomorrow near South Carolina, which is home to two major US wire rod mills: Nucor’s Darlington mill and Liberty House Group’s Georgetown mill. Nucor issued a letter to customers stating that shipments will be halted as of today and resume Monday depending on road and rail access. Liberty House has not issued a public statement regarding the storm.
Positioned so close to the coastline, the two mills could potentially face long-lasting production and shipment disruptions due to massive flooding, similar to Houston-area steel mills and distributors following Hurricane Harvey last year. If that happens, sources tell SteelOrbis that they are concerned mills will use the tight supply as an excuse to push up prices.
The full extent of the hurricane’s effect on the market won’t be apparent until early next week, and until then, US domestic wire rod prices are still trending around $39.50-$40.50 cwt. ($790-$830/nt or $871-$915/mt) ex-mill.