The US scrap market is quiet as we pass through June. Speculation about the direction of July is mixed, with most sentiment neutral or bearish. The concerns are about demand during the summer months. There are still several planned outages and other cutbacks at various mills that could limit overall demand for recycled steel scrap.
The conventional wisdom is that sheet prices will trend down for the next few weeks (maybe the next two months) before rising again in August – around when lead times stretch into the busier fall months. We see that reflected in our survey results and in market chatter. And there are plenty of data points to choose from if you want to support of that position.
As the scrap market for June settles at lowered levels, let’s look at the situation for exports of ferrous scrap from the US East and Gulf coasts. Despite declines in the North American ferrous markets over the last two months, export prices have remained range-bound within a tight trading window. After a brief decline last […]
The suspense about the drop in ferrous scrap pricing for June has ended with Delta, Ohio-based North Star BlueScope entering the market at significantly lower numbers than most predicted.
The chatter about the June ferrous scrap market has been noticeably muted as we come off the Memorial Day weekend.
Earlier this month, steelmakers entered the scrap market at mixed pricing. The prevailing price for obsolescent grades fell $20 per gross ton (gt). However, some notable districts decided to only drop $10/gt.
After a considerable wait, the market for ferrous scrap for May shipment has started to form.
Turkish scrap import prices were stable last week. CRU’s assessment for HMS1/2 80:20 and shredded was unchanged at $384 per metric ton (mt) CFR and $408/mt, respectively.
As we approach “buy week,” a term industry veterans use to refer to steel mill scrap buying time and an excuse to remain in the office, we have seen a variety of slants on the May market.
Steel Dynamics Inc.'s (SDI's) earnings fell in the first quarter of 2024 as the company cited steel order volatility early in the quarter and lower scrap prices.
Does the price of ferrous scrap depend on the price of finished steel product? And how much of an influence do billet and slab prices have on scrap prices?
As the ISRI 2024 conference unfolds in Las Vegas, attendees are diving into crucial discussions shaping the future of the recycling industry. Here are the main topics being discussed: New steelmaking capacity coming online this year Export demand during this period Infrastructure spending Supply of pig iron and HBI Current logistics challenges May scrap prices […]
Over the last several years, I have noticed widening spreads between #1 Heavy Melting Steel (ISRI 201) and Shredded (ISRI 210,211), as well as Plate & Structural (ISRI 232).
OnmiSource LLC, a subsidiary of Fort Wayne, Indiana-based steel producer and recycler, Steel Dyanmics, Inc., has acquired Toledo Shredding, LLC, in Ohio.
Several large buyers in the North came into the market on a sideways basis from prices paid in March. The development comes after recent speculation about what prices US-based steelmakers would pay for scrap for April shipments.
On the eve of the April ferrous scrap buy, there is no firm consensus on the market’s direction. The safe predictions are “soft” sideways to “strong” sideways. That may mean down $10 per gross ton (gt) to up $10/gt.
You might have noticed that SMU has been publishing more articles about scrap in recent months. That was no accident. In fact, we’ve found enough of an audience that CRU, our parent company, has decided to launch a new publication – Recycled Metals Update, or RMU. It cover both ferrous and nonferrous scrap. RMU’s website is here. You can go there now and request a 30-day free trial. It’s that simple.
Numerous mid-sized export yards in California and in Baja Mexico had little to no inventory on the ground last week because most had sold forward in the falling March market. Looking to secure their margins, they dropped prices across the scale. That resulted in lower-than-normal flows. “I’m sold out through mid-April and even longer if the flow doesn’t pick up” one yard owner said. That turned out to be the position of numerous West Coast suppliers.
SMU’s sheet prices firmed up modestly this week, even as CME hot rolled futures declined. What gives? My channel checks suggest that demand remains stable and that buyers have returned to the market following new HR base prices announced by mills earlier this month. I’m looking forward to seeing whether lead times, which have stabilized, will start extending. SMU will have more to share on that front when we release updated lead time figures on Thursday. As for HR futures, what a reversal! As David Feldstein wrote last Thursday, bulls expected mill price increase announcements. And we briefly saw the May contract climb as high as ~$1,000 per short ton (st).
As the month of March goes into the second half, the scrap community is trying to cope with the large drop in ferrous scrap earlier this month.
Radius Recycling anticipates a wider loss in its fiscal second quarter vs. the first quarter, according to preliminary results.
The ferrous scrap market experienced a sharp decline for March shipments. Prime scrap fell $60-70 per gross ton (gt) while shredded and other obsolete grades declined $40-50/gt. It seems these prices were accepted in the trade by dealers across the continent.
US ferrous scrap prices fell steeply in March for HMS, shredded, and prime scrap, sources told SMU.
As I see it, the market looked to be a perfect storm for consumers this month while two large steel mills tried to put a floor on hot-rolled coil (HRC). One source speculated that “flat rolled mills coordinated their downtime and will take out 250,000 tons of capacity in April,” which made them attempt to put a bottom on flat-rolled product.
A Detroit area steelmaker this morning announced its offers for scrap for March scrap shipments. The drop in its offer prices were larger than most industry observes forecasted, especially for shredded scrap. Many in the scrap community had predicted that prime scrap would drop $40-50 per gross ton (gt) with shredded only down $30-40/gt. But other market participants were skeptical about these predictions given bearishness in ferrous markets, both domestically and abroad.
The news in the West was that a mill in the Rocky Mountain region made a significant reduction in their usual purchase program, while still another small mill in the region also apparently reduced their buying program for February.
The March outlook for most ferrous products is trending down faster than most participants thought as recently as a week ago.
The Mid-American ISRI Chapter held its annual meeting in St. Louis this month. Over the years, this event has become a “must attend” for the scrap community nationwide.
Having just attended the historically significant ISRI Mid-America Chapter Consumers Night Banquet in St. Louis and waiting for my delayed flight, it seemed I had the perfect opportunity to inform the industry of a few items that came out while wheeling and dealing in the beautiful Union Train Station Hotel. For the West Coast export […]
While seaborne trade has been challenging due to weak global steel production, demand for ferrous scrap in the US remains strong, according to Sims Ltd.