Steel reinforcing bar prices in the United States rose to a 32-month high following a second round of mill hikes and an ongoing supply shortage, but were eclipsed by higher import prices.
Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel reinforcing bar (rebar), fob mill US at $35.50 per hundredweight ($710 per short ton) on Wednesday December 23, up 2.9% from $34.50 per cwt the week before and the highest price since it was $35.25-36.50 per cwt in early April 2019. Most market participants reported that the second round of $40-per-ton ($2 per cwt) price hikes had been fully accepted by the market. The hike "was accepted 100% because there is no availability," according to a trader source.Lead times currently stand at around four to six weeks, which is unusually long for the rebar market given that material is sometimes already available...