CRU
March 16, 2021
CRU: U.S. Long Prices Rise Again in April
Written by Dave Thewlis
By CRU Analyst Dave Thewlis, from CRU’s Steel Long Products Monitor
Prices among all types of long products rose again in April, the most challenged of which remains wire rod. February’s winter storms, which were extreme enough to cause a 2.2% m/m decline in U.S. industrial production, made a difficult situation worse for wire rod buyers by further delaying already-delayed material shipments. Domestic lead times are now booking into July, August, or in some cases, September. We continue to hear of mills operating on an allocation basis. There is sufficient desperation in the market for material that mills can comfortably raise prices in the event of scrap increases while feeling little to no pressure to drop them when scrap costs decline.
