Hurricane Helene to bolster demand for rebar, wider construction segments in near term: sources

The silver lining for the steel reinforcing bar (rebar) industry was apparent to market participants immediately, and has expanded to include multiple arms of the wider construction sector, including merchant bar, beams and wire rod, according to multiple sources in the rebar and general construction markets contacted by Fastmarkets on Wednesday October 2.

The Category 4 storm brought torrential flooding and winds decimating areas in North Carolina and several other surrounding states. President Joe Biden said in an announcement on Tuesday October 1 that the storm has killed at least 100 people so far, and 600 remain missing.

No one yet knows the full scale of the operational disruption running rampant through the steel and construction industries in the affected area, sources said, with the magnitude and scope of Helene and its aftermath still being felt and unfolding in real time — often over an unfathomably large area besieged by mountainous terrain and impassable roads, as is the case in North Carolina, the most decimated state in the US by far.

This grim reality is coupled with some costly collateral and structural damage to steel facilities and equipment, with plants in affected areas shuttered across North Carolina, sources said.

“We are still trying to gauge the impact of the port strikes, natural disasters [Hurricane Helene and other future storms] and the conflicts in the Middle East. We should [soon] learn more [about] the impact to the market,” a steel buyer said.

Gerdau Long Steel North America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, was largely unaffected by the storm’s path of destruction, according to a company spokesperson.

“We were very fortunate, and didn’t suffer any significant operational impacts from Hurricane Helene,” the spokesperson said.

A rebar trader said that the extensive damage to the infrastructure sector, coupled with the large-scale, forthcoming rebuilding efforts, will be a boon to the rebar and general construction industries — even if that impact takes time to be felt, given the widespread scale of damage.

“Yes, demand for rebar will be going up eventually, due to reconstruction after Hurricane Helene — but not immediately,” the trader said.

A second rebar trader agreed with this sentiment, noting that his minimal business dealings in the Florida and North Carolina rebar markets were largely unaffected.

“Rebar, merchant bars, beams and wire rod in our North Carolina market was not impacted in our case; we don’t participate much in these markets,” the second trader said. “I think this hurricane will benefit the [construction] industry, due to the material for re-construction they will need.”

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