Taiwanese steel mills secured unexpected rebar orders totaling tens of thousands of tons, though calculations indicate operations are running at significant trading losses using overseas raw materials.

To offset severe financial deficits, steel mills considered reducing domestic scrap purchasing prices. However, scrap dealers argued that price reductions are completely unviable because collection volumes are already scarce.

Dealers explained that lowering local rates would further reduce incoming scrap supplies rather than reduce costs, leaving mills facing severe shortages of both domestic and imported materials. Furthermore, domestic scrap values remain significantly lower than overseas alternatives, leading dealers to criticize mill pricing pressures as unsustainable for the local market.