ArcelorMittal boosts steel wire prices

By Tom Stundza -- Purchasing, 1/9/2008 10:30:00 AM

Steel wire list prices are being boosted by $60/ton in February by ArcelorMittal Long Carbon North America, which has joined with some other North American mills to raise list prices of steel wire rod by $100/ton since last September.

Steel Business Briefing, the online news service, reports that “wire drawers have been having a difficult time passing along rod price increases, due to flat demand and import competition from offshore wire and wire products makers.” This matches Purchasingdata.com reports that wire rod prices have increased by just $35/ton since September and an earlier attempt to raise wire prices flopped.

In a related issue, the Commerce Department has decided that punitive tariffs on carbon and alloy steel rod imports from seven nations--Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, Trinidad and Tobago and Ukraine--should stay on the books. The import duty case now goes to the U.S. International Trade Commission, which has the final say in the matter.