March Scrap Trading Ongoing, But Tags Seen Up

“Yes, it’s taken too long,” the source said. “Market is up, and mills are resistant. Took a while to sort through things.”

Regarding what he’s seeing in the market at the moment, he said Thursday shred is +$50, though some southern mills are able to procure at +$40. Prime, he said, is anywhere from +$70 to around +$90, with two caveats: “(1) trading is still happening and the trend for prime is higher, and (2) there are base price adjustments happening making starting prices higher where necessary, so if you see a +$70 the base price may have been adjusted higher.”  

HMS, though, is not seeing the same price gains.

“It’s in better supply and is up generally $30,” the source said.

He said prices Thursday from his perspective were $500-$520 per gross ton for shred, $520-$560 per gross ton for prime/busheling, and $400-$430 per gross ton for HMS.

Another scrap source broadly agreed with those prices for the Ohio Valley, saying, “HMS is more available due to two mills in the valley not buying this grade.  

Looking beyond, a third source said, “It’s still winter and spring clean-up hasn’t really begun yet. The markets going forward on prime scrap will continue to be tight, while obsolescent grades will ease somewhat.”

The first source said March trading would likely settle in the early part of the week ending March 17.

SMU’s February pricing was:

• Busheling at $440 -$480 per gross ton, averaging $460.
• Shredded at $440 -$470 per gross ton, averaging $455.
• HMS at $370 – $400 per gross ton, averaging $385.

By Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com