Rebar cut-and-benders in Austria and southern Germany are hesitating to buy Italian material, because increasing transport costs make delivered prices across the Alps unattractive.
The apparent spread between rebar base prices in Italy and in northwestern Europe can be as much as €70/tonne ($82), with prices at €280-290/t in Italy and at €340-350/t in Germany. Northwestern European buyers are nevertheless still staying clear of ordering Italian. According to a Ruhr-based manager, transport to there would “easily cost €50, more likely €60”.
“Freight costs have risen significantly lately, for road trucks and for trains,” he tells Kallanish. Citing mill sources, he says that rail freight rose by 20%, and for some routes by up to 50%.
His view for the Ruhr region is shared further south, where sources confirm this trend. Austrian buyers have to calculate with delivery fees of €50, maybe more, rather than the €40 they have been used to, one source says. He points at a detail often overlooked, that Italian base prices are quoted ex-works for the domestic market, while northwestern mills quote delivered.
Austrian buyers therefore easily end up with offers of €330-340/t delivered, which makes little difference to domestic or German quotes. He also notes that Italian mill prices for northern markets differ from those offered in Italy. “They try to reach for prices they think they can achieve here. After all, Austria for them is a complementary market, targeted only if the opportunity nets more money,” he believes.
He adds that Austria’s only rebar mill, Marienhütte, may extend its winter break for the modernisation of its cooling bed (see Kallanish 7 May 2025).
