Benelux merchant bar prices have seen a notable increase so far this year, and now are heard matching, if not surpassing, Germany’s prices.
The German base price is currently assessed at around €350/tonne ($412), below that of Italy, where domestic deals can reach up to €380/t. The size extra to be added would be €420/t for standard sizes, resulting in a delivered price in Germany of around €770/t.
One German buyer located near the western border is astonished about the current levels he sees in Belgium at present. “Normally, they used to be €50/t below us,” he tells Kallanish.
Benelux countries, like Germany, have no domestic mills. Their closest supplier mill would be Beltrame in France.
So far, the supplier mills have worked with regional agents, rather than employees. “An agent who is paid by the tonne is easier with granting lower prices,” the German manager believes. Another reason for the previously lower price level is the proximity to the large ARA ports, and the region’s access to imports.
The recent move in prices could be attributable to a change of mind at the mills, and an increasing unwillingness to compete too much with price concessions, the manager believes.
Mills also seem to insist more on transportation costs, which have recently risen substantially, and now can reach €60-70/t if ordering from further away than France.
“Some sizes can only be made in Italy, but normally you do not need a full truckload of special sizes; so you complement the truck with standard sizes, but still have to pay the full long-distance fare,” the manager explains.
And he points at one noteworthy difference in the transport pricing of Benelux versus Germany: “For Benelux, the mills charge for the real distance.” For Germany, which has no domestic merchant bar mill either, the foreign mills “apply a standard price that treats all regions equal, no matter if it’s to Hamburg or to Munich.”
