Scrap Prices North America

HRC vs. busheling spread widens in December

Written by Ethan Bernard

December 13, 2023

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices widened slightly this month, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

SMU’s average HRC price increased this week, while the average price for busheling scrap jumped in December month over month.

Our average HRC price was $1,040 per ton as of Dec. 12, up $20 per ton from the prior week.

Busheling tags climbed $85 per gross ton from November to an average of $500 this month. Figure 1 shows price histories for each product.

After converting scrap prices to dollars per net ton for an equal comparison, the differential between HRC and busheling scrap prices is $594 per net ton as of Dec. 12, rising $25 from a month earlier (Figure 2). Widening for the third consecutive month, we’ll see if this becomes a trend going into the new year.

By the way, did you know SMU’s Interactive Pricing Tool has the capability to show steel and scrap prices in dollars per net ton, dollars per metric ton, and dollars per gross ton?

Figure 3 explores this relationship in a different way: We have graphed HRC’s premium over busheling scrap as a percentage. HRC prices now carry a 108% premium over prime scrap, down from 127% a month ago.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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