Nucor, SDI hiking rebar, merchant bar prices $45/ton for January [UPDATE]

Dec 09, 2010 | 01:25 PM | Lisa Gordon

Bar product prices are on the rise again as two producers set $45-per-ton hikes, sending buyers scrambling to stock up before the increase takes hold next month.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Nucor Corp. told customers in a letter dated Wednesday that it will raise prices on reinforcing bar and merchant bar products by $45 per ton ($2.25 per hundredweight) effective with Jan. 1 shipments.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) joined the fray Thursday, saying its Roanoke Bar Division would boost tags $45 per ton on all products with Jan. 1 shipments, citing a December fuel surcharge on truck shipments of 20 percent and a rail surcharge of 7.2 percent.

The move follows last week's surprise announcement of an immediate $20-per-ton increase by Nucor and SDI, Fort Wayne, Ind. (AMM, Dec. 6).

With the first increase sticking, transaction prices are now $33.75 per cwt for grade 60, No. 5 rebar; $40.50 per cwt for 2- by 2- by ¼-inch angles; $39.50 per cwt for 3- by 3- by ¼-inch angles; $40 per cwt for 8- by 11½-inch channels; and $40.75 per cwt for ½- by 4-inch flats.....