Tag: Shredded Scrap

The US domestic ferrous scrap market had a rough 2024, despite optimism as the year started.

Prices were stable to down in November for all seven steelmaking raw materials tracked by SMU, according to our latest analysis.

Ferrous scrap prices were largely rangebound to down at the November settle, market sources told SMU.

Scrap prices ticked up in October outside of Chicago and Detroit, scrap sources told SMU.

September scrap prices came in a soft sideways, with only mild hopes for a higher October, market sources said.  

Steelmaking raw material prices have moved in differing directions across August, a change of pace from the declines seen in June and July, according to SMU’s latest analysis.

US scrap prices picked up in August, though near-term demand is expected to remain weak, scrap sources told SMU.

The US ferrous scrap market has essentially traded sideways for August. It may be too early to judge how much traction these prices will have with the trade.

The majority of steelmaking raw material prices declined in June, following the same trend seen in May, according to SMU’s latest analysis.

Scrap prices came in mostly sideways in July, with prime scrap prices edging down while shredded and HMS tags ticked up slightly, scrap sources told SMU. They believe a bottom has been reached in the market.

The ferrous scrap export market on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of North America has maintained its pricing for several months despite continuing declines in domestic markets.

After celebrating the July 4th holiday, let’s have a look back at the first half of 2024.

Most longs prices in the US were unchanged this month, except for rebar, which declined by $1.50/cwt ($30/short ton) m/m. While end-use demand is stable, inventories are well-stocked, keeping purchases limited. Domestic availability is sufficient to meet current demand, hindering the appetite for imported material. Meanwhile, prices for scrap remained under pressure in June, with […]

Steelmaking raw material prices have generally declined over the past month according to SMU’s latest analysis.

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.

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 […]

Domestic scrap prices have fallen in June for all grades tracked by SMU, with prime scrap sinking $30 per gross ton (gt) from May, according to scrap sources.

Steelmaking raw material prices have moved in different directions over the past month, according to SMU’s latest analysis.

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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.