Late last week, a leading rebar manufacturer followed the earlier move last week by re-establishing the $3.00/cwt size extra on sizes #3, #14 & #18. Additionally, however, they announced a $60/ton ($3.00/cwt) base-price increase on all new orders effective immediately. The move was somewhat surprising, as most agree demand in the rebar market does not necessarily merit a price increase, and the fabrication prices have remained sluggish this season. Still, mills are very tight on supply, grappling with the effects of Trump’s tariff increases in June, and likely felt that the increased price would help control the demand for their products and allow the mills to “catch up.” Sensing not a lot of alternatives at the moment, expect other mills to follow this week with versions of their own increases. The weeks ahead will be very telling to see if demand will be strong enough to push the announced increases through.
We will continue to keep you posted as developments happen. Have a great week ahead!
Comments Off on Fiberglass Rebar FAQs With Adelphia Metals
Fiberglass rebar is a great alternative to steel rebar, its conventional predecessor, in structural applications and construction projects. Also known as glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP), the material offers significant strength and performance advantages over steel rebar.
While many contractors and distributors have already discovered the benefits of fiberglass rebar, you may still have questions you’d like answered before adopting the material for your projects. Use these fiberglass rebar FAQs to find your answers in the fiberglass vs. steel rebar debate.
Performance and Strength of Fiberglass Rebar
Is Fiberglass Rebar Stronger Than Steel?
Fiberglass rebar has a tensile strength of 89,900 to 159,500 psi. This is significantly stronger than traditional steel rebar, which has a tensile strength of 60,000 to 80,000 psi.
How Does the Weight of Fiberglass Compare to Steel?
Despite being stronger than steel rebar, fiberglass rebar is much lighter. Fiberglass rebar is typically 1/3 or even 1/4 of the weight of steel rebar. Advantages of this reduced weight include:
Lighter final weight of your structure
Easier handling and transportation
Reduced labor and equipment costs
Installation, Handling, and Fabrication
Can Fiberglass Rebar Be Bent or Cut Onsite?
Fiberglass rebar requires specialized equipment to properly cut or bend it into the desired shape. Otherwise, it’s at risk of chipping and cracking. To cut fiberglass rebar, technicians should use a fine-toothed saw or angle grinder instead of the shears and torches that can cut traditional rebar onsite. While fiberglass rebar is inherently flexible, traditional bent shapes such as 90 degree bends, U bars, or hoops must be formed at the factory. Adelphia Metals stocks standard bends and can custom fabricate specialty shapes to fit your needs.
How Should Fiberglass Rebar Be Handled on the Jobsite, and Does It Require Special Safety Measures?
Use standard safety precautions when handling fiberglass rebar on a worksite. This includes wearing protective gear like long-sleeved clothing, gloves, and safety glasses. It’s non-conductive, and while you won’t have to worry about sparking, you might experience irritated skin from the fiberglass particles without proper PPE. You should also ensure sufficient ventilation to prevent dust inhalation while cutting rebar.
Common Use Cases and Structural Applications
Where Is Fiberglass Rebar Most Effectively Used?
Fiberglass is a versatile material. Because it resists corrosion and rusting, it works well in applications where the risk of steel rebar corroding is too high. Research also shows that Fiberglass Rebar has excellent crack mitigation properties for temperature-shrinkage applications, resulting in it becoming increasingly more common to use a #3 Fiberglass bar in lieu of a #4 steel at the same spacing. These applications include:
Walls
Slab-on-ground installations
Foundations in moist environments
Residential footings
Bridges
Marine structures
What Codes and Approvals Back Fiberglass Rebar?
The International Code Council Evaluation Service (ICC-ES) is one of several regulatory bodies that have evaluated fiberglass rebar to ensure compliance with essential building codes and performance standards. At Adelphia, we exclusively carry fiberglass rebar that meets ASTM D7957, the recognized industry standard, and fully supports design and use in accordance with ACI 440.11 and other leading engineering guidelines.
Value Propositions for Buyers and Contractors
Why Buy From Adelphia Instead of Direct Manufacturers?
At Adelphia Metals LLC, we specialize in providing our clients with high-quality materials. We have a large distribution network throughout the U.S. made up of more than 50 locations, allowing us to reliably deliver products on time and maintain extensive inventories of popular fiberglass rebar products. If you have project-specific needs, our reliable in-house engineering teams can provide tailored solutions that fit your project parameters, budget, and schedule.
How Does Fiberglass Save Time and Money?
Fiberglass doesn’t just have a higher tensile strength than conventional steel rebar. It can also help companies save time and money by:
Lowers transportation costs compared to heavier steel rebar, thanks to its lightweight composition
Reduces labor demands and related expenses through a high strength-to-weight ratio that simplifies handling and installation
Minimizes long-term maintenance and replacement due to superior durability and corrosion resistance
Allows material optimization by replacing #4 steel with more cost-effective #3 fiberglass rebar in low-crack-risk applications
Offers a budget-friendly alternative to premium non-corrosive steel options, providing value without compromising performance
While steel rebar requires less of a financial investment upfront, fiberglass rebar is a more cost-efficient option as a long-term solution.
Fiberglass Rebar FAQs Explained by Adelphia Metals
While steel rebar is a conventional choice, the benefits of fiberglass rebar can significantly increase the profitability and success of your future construction projects. Make sure you have the right supplies for every job by sourcing your fiberglass rebar through Adelphia Metals believes in bringing you the right products for the right applications. While steel rebar remains the primary solution for many projects, Fiberglass rebar can deliver a lower up front cost option for many low demand crack mitigation applications while also providing life cycle savings when corrosion is a concern. Contact us today to learn more about our products or to place your order.
Overnight, a leading manufacturer came out with a unique public announcement affecting only certain-sized extras for its rebar products. The announcement was an “update” to the size extras of #3, #14, and #18 bars to a $4.00/cwt adder. While the #14 & #18 are typically slower-moving items, their size increase had always been a $3.00/cwt standard, which would effectively raise those sizes another $1.00/cwt. The announcement on #3’s is a bit more impactful, as #3’s typically represents 5-10% of the overall rebar market and will impact the market differently in different regions. Import mills traditionally did not have an extra on #3’s, but imports are rapidly going away with the tariffs. In the East and Midwest, the mills had already enjoyed a $4.00/cwt premium on #3’s, so there really is no change for those markets. In the South and the West, markets that historically are impacted to a greater extent by imports, the domestics have had a lesser premium on the #3’s to be competitive. These markets could be impacted to a greater extent. Of course, that could then crack open the door for imports, where suddenly the higher market price for #3’s may once again garner some attention from imports….
In the days to come, other mills will review their strategy on these sizes and likely come up with their own versions of pricing on these sizes.
Late last week, before the holiday weekend, scrap for July posted at no change from June ($380/ton). This was a relative “non-event,” as most had anticipated no movement heading into July.
It remains surprising that, despite the perceived uptick in demand for finished product in June and recent tariff activity, scrap yards have yet to see a corresponding increase in demand for raw materials from the mills. With raw material costs unchanged, mills will likely base pricing decisions solely on demand and available supply moving forward.
We’ll continue to keep you updated. Have a great week!
As June closes, so does the first half of the year. Many would agree that while demand is not terrible, the spark that everyone expected for 2025 has failed to materialize. Tariff uncertainty and trade cases have cast a shadow on supply costs, and many suggest that that has stalled demand. Supply is very tight currently as we start the second half of the year. An unexpected increase in the 232 tariffs in June evaporated what little stock was in the pipeline, and the import vessels that had been scheduled to arrive now contain material that is subject to a much higher duty rate than originally expected. Most expect that the supply situation will improve as new supply comes on-line and with demand at the higher prices showing signs of fatigue.
Domestic mills have very little inventory on hand to end June, and most report July rollings are sold out. The increase is expected to fully “stick” as we head into July, and why would anyone expect mills to come off it? With little threat of imports and tight supply, whispers of a potential increase have started. However, mills may give pause as scrap has not increased, and raising prices further may appear “opportunistic.” Mills have been able to recapture their margin with the latest move, and further increases would ultimately come at the expense of downstream customers’ margin. Scrap’s reluctance to increase sends a strong message as to how strong demand really is. Mills have not increased their needs for raw materials recently from prior months. Mills will need to rely on their current customer base as new supply comes online and provides other sourcing options. To hammer further price increases now might not be the best look moving forward…. Still… there is the old saying “make hay in the summer…” So who knows?
On the import side… everything remains at a standstill. The material in the pipeline before the increased tariffs had little to no time to react to the increased costs. Importers are asking for the full increase, but with domestics only coming up $60/ton, that leaves the new costs on imports higher than domestic in many cases. The market in the US currently offers little incentive for new cargos to be booked. The lowest-cost producers also face trade cases that will only further deter imports from coming in. There is some discussion that Mexico and the US may come to an agreement to remove the tariffs on some specific volumes; however, any exact details have not been finalized, and that situation does not currently impact the market to any significant degree.
On the scrap front, most are expecting a sideways move for July. With stronger demand and higher prices, one would expect the scrap dealers to try and seize an opportunity to raise pricing. However, over the last several weeks, that does not appear to be the case, and the best guess as we start the trade this week for July is a sideways move. In addition, global scrap prices are trending sideways to softer, which only paints a similar picture. We will update you when the final number is posted.
In the meantime, have a great holiday week and a happy and safe 4th of July.
Comments Off on Update – Scrap Finalizes and Mills Increase Pricing
The news keeps rolling in this week. Chicago shredded scrap finalized last night at $380/ton, with no change from March pricing. Compared to prior months, it finalized very quickly this month given the uncertainty that surrounds the market right now with the tariffs this week and the trade cases. Domestic mills also wasted little time reacting to this week’s shift in the market, and last night a leading manufacturer announced a price increase of $60/ton on all rebar with an added twist of an additional $40/ton on 20’ rebar. With little change in the scrap market on hand, this move was no doubt an effort to capitalize on the market uncertainty and slow down the rush of orders heading to the domestic mills. Mills were already tight on inventory, and this week’s events caused a rush of demand at the mills that they likely were not able to maintain a schedule. This morning other mills have followed with their own versions of increases as well.
In the days and weeks ahead, the market will be determined by how much inventory was under contract and pricing locked and how much true demand is out there. If the demand is strong and very little material is covered at fixed pricing, these increases are more likely to stick as buyers will be forced to pay them. However, if mills begin to loosen with a lack of new orders at these higher prices, you will see the impact of that as well. No doubt that the market has done a complete 180 in a week, with lower prices no longer on the radar and buyers scrambling to figure out where a fair price should be with the new rebar landscape.
Since this is our 3rd consecutive daily update, we will try to let the dust settle a bit… (Not sure the market can handle more excitement in a week, and I am probably sure you are tired of hearing from us!!) We will continue to update events that impact the market. In the meantime, have a great rest of the week.
