Tag: Pig Iron

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 […]

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.

There is growing hope that the US scrap market has bottomed, according to industry sources. The steep price declines in March may have ushered in a floor because dealers say their stocks are a bit depleted. Their concern: that the flow of obsoletes could be cut severely with any further drop in prices. Is this wishful thinking, or do the fundamentals support the prediction of a market bottom? Let’s take a look!

Prices for pig iron in Brazil have increased despite efforts by US-based buyers to lower them. 

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.

Prices of most steelmaking raw materials have moved lower over the last 30 days, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis.

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.

The March outlook for most ferrous products is trending down faster than most participants thought as recently as a week ago.

The CRUmpi declined by 1.7% month over month (m/m) to 325.2 in February, compared to a 4.3% m/m increase in February 2023.

The pig iron market has risen in recent months from the high $390s per metric ton (mt) last fall to $490/mt for Brazilian material and a bit more for Ukrainian product - for an overall average of $495/mt CFR.

The state of the US scrap market is not very well understood, according to the dealer trade. It seems steelmakers in several regions are still looking to buy scrap, several sources told SMU.

Pig iron prices rose month over month (MoM) in all major regions aside from Europe on improved buying. Demand in the US remains robust while market participants report that availability of Brazilian material increased after tightening a month prior. Meanwhile, Ukrainian export capacity increased due to greater access to temporary sea corridors.

I expected that we’d start off January with prime scrap prices modestly up if for no other reason than industrial activity typically slows down over the holidays. And mills’ appetite for scrap typically increases in anticipation of stronger Q1 order activity.

A Detroit-area mill entered the scrap market on Friday afternoon with the following offers: The Chicago area followed suit: Mills in the Great Lakes region sensed there was ample supply of most grades. Also, they all bought heavily last month and so had sufficient inventories to make this move, market participants said. Still, the move surprised […]

As we look back at the scrap market for 2023, it basically followed its normal seasonal pattern. Most of the disruptive geopolitical events that riled ferrous raw materials occurred in 2022. So, with those things out of the way—or settling down at least for now—2023 resumed its normal pattern.

Pig iron prices rose month over month (MoM) for all major regions, driven by rising scrap prices.

Steel Market Update’s Steel Demand Index has moved into growth territory, but barely, after recovering slightly from our reading in late November, according to our latest survey data.

SMU’s Community Chat on Wednesday, Dec. 13, featured Bank of America SVP Ira Kreft.

Sheet prices increased again this week on the heels of higher costs for scrap, pig iron, and iron ore.

The prices for all grades of pig iron have dramatically risen since SMU’s last report from Nov. 18.

A large Detroit-area scrap buyer entered the market on Wednesday at significantly higher prices than a month earlier.

Prices of steelmaking raw materials are largely up over the over the last 30 days, as they were the month prior, according to Steel Market Update’s latest analysis.

The importation of basic pig iron has allowed EAF steelmakers to implement thin-slab casting technology to make drawing-quality flat-rolled sheet over the last 30 years.

You could make a case that Nov. 1 was April Fool’s Day for steel – or at least for the widespread rumor that Cliffs would announce a $10-billion deal for U.S. Steel on that date. I’m not going to endorse any precise date or price tag. But I’d be surprised if a deal – or […]

U.S. Steel’s third-quarter earnings call with analysts on Friday, Oct. 27, was packed full of insight into the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s current state of affairs.

Prices for ore-based metallics were mixed month-on-month (MoM) as lower finished steel production weighs on pig iron demand.

The pig iron trade is an important element to the US steel and foundry industry.

Some of the movements in scrap and pig iron pricing over the past 18-24 months have been quite drastic.