The recent German and Austrian rebar pricing size extras revamp includes some noteworthy adjustments, such as the reduction in some size extras charges.
In the new lists of two mills, the size extra for straight rebar in the standard 12mm diameter was increased by €15 to €280/tonne ($327). For coiled rebar, however, it has been decreased by €10, at least at Badische Stahlwerke, versus the previous list from 2015. Straight rebar and coil extras are now both at €280.
“That’s right, straight rebar has been brought up, coil brought down,” one big buyer confirms to Kallanish. He also points out the relatively bigger increase for thin-gauge straight bar: size extras for 8mm increased by €40 to €325, whereas coil in the same size remained at €300.
In the case of Badische, the size extra of €280 for coil in 12mm is now on par with other mills; for the last ten years, it used to be €10 higher, at €290. Until now, “Badische charged more using the argument of higher quality,” the buyer says, adding that “they do in fact have a point with that”.
Another manager shares this impression. With the new pricing in favour of coil, he believes that Badische wants to convince buyers that prefer straight bar to instead purchase de-coiled bar. From a wound coil, virtually all bar lengths cat be cut.
According to the manager, the process of re-straightening is more economic than keeping many bar sizes available in store: “You can easily save more space and inventory, from more than 2,000 tonnes to some 1,000t, which also saves you hundreds of thousands in tied-up capital.”
Other mills are not as prominent in working with coiled bar because “you need the infrastructure, a good straightener that avoids flaws in the process”, he concludes.
Christian Koehl Germany
