Some rebar sources in Germany and Austria are reporting an apparent shortage and longer lead times for wire mesh. However, the issue could be temporary.
Initially heard in Austria, several buyers in Germany concur that they are facing lead times of more than four weeks, compared with less than a week in 2025. The sources assure that orders are not declined, but will take longer to be served, and that, consequently, prices are inching up by more than those for rebar.
For wire mesh, base prices are normally €100/tonne ($117) above straight rebar, but currently fetch a premium of €110-120, with deals at €560-570, Kallanish hears from market players. With size extras of €210, this results in €770-780 delivered.
One observer at a large distributor attributor believes that wire mesh production stalled in the winter months “when it was pretty cold for construction to continue as usual,” and has not quite caught up yet.
A manager at another big distributor agrees, he says that deliveries that were delayed from winter months have lately taken freight capacity away from new orders. He believes production activity is currently reduced by as much as 30%.
Against that, a manager of a producer cannot confirm such suggestions. He says that production runs as usual, and that orders have not surged noticeably.
But this situation may vary among producers, especially as the input material wire mesh is subject to shortage and high prices. Hence, makers who depend on buying wire rod from third parties for the production of wire mesh will be more impacted on their operation.
Meanwhile, another cause cited is a shortage of open trucks needed for wire mesh transport. Truck capacity has become scarce and expensive due to the overall diesel price surge. Plus, many transport companies in western Europe are based in Poland where operations and drivers took an extended break over the Easter holidays.
Author: Christian Koehl
