Although US domestic scrap prices are in the process of settling for March, indications point toward a $30/mt increase in shredded scrap, giving US domestic wire rod mills additional leverage to push through their recent price increases.
US wire rod mills were able to push through a small portion of the $3.25 cwt. ($65/nt or $72/mt) in combined price increase announcements (with effective dates of Feb. 1 and Feb. 9) by March 1, and this week, sources tell SteelOrbis that another $1.00 cwt. ($20/nt or $22/mt) has been absorbed. US domestic wire rod spot prices are now in the range of $34.75-$35.25 cwt. ($695-$705/nt or $766-$777/mt) ex-mill.
US wire rod mills are also banking on the Section 232-related import drought to help push through the rest of the price increases, and some sources even speculate that mills might announce yet another price increase as soon as the steel tariffs are signed into law. Already, import offers are “off the table,” according to trader sources, and already-arrived material at US ports is dwindling. As of the first week of March, the US recorded only 11,222 mt in wire rod import permits.