Tag: Steel and Scrap Prices

The HRC vs. prime scrap spread increased again in March.

Domestic shredded scrap has experienced a renaissance in pricing since January. And that increase had caused traditional exporters to ship their material to domestic users instead of overseas. But with recent changes, this cycle may end with the resurgence of export demand and continued foreign exchange fluctuations.

In the final week of February, SMU polled steel and scrap executives to gather their insights on the current state of the scrap market as well as future projections.

Buyers are optimistic for a strong scrap market in March, driven by limited scrap inflows from severe weather disruptions and increasing mill demand.

The CRU Metallics Price Indicator (CRUmpi) rose by 5.0% m/m in February to 293.7, a five-month high. Scrap prices increased in different degrees this month, reflecting the confidence level in the steel market across different regions. While US scrap prices rose sharply m/m due to limited availability, those in Europe and Asia had only small […]

As Wolfe Research’s Timna Tanners put it in her opening talk at Tampa on Monday afternoon, we’re living in a world of “Trumplications” now. That probably means – at least in the short term – higher scrap costs, lower imports from countries hit with or threated tariffs, and higher steel prices. SMU data reflects that. Scrap went up in January. More than 75% of the respondents to our more recent survey expect scrap to go up again February, maybe by a lot. Lead times, meanwhile, have been ticking upward this month. It started with hot-rolled coil and plate earlier this month. Now we’re seeing coated lead times extending too.

Steel prices didn't start the new year with a bang - but they didn't bust, either, according to SMU's first survey of 2025. On the sheet side, market participants generally predicted that prices should move higher this year on the coated trade petition and the potential for tariffs under President-elect Trump. But most buyer sources weren’t eager to load up given the uncertain timing and scope of the potential tariffs. They also cited increasing domestic capacity and modest demand.

The ferrous scrap markets start the year off in a battered condition after a real drubbing in 2024. There is optimism, but this was felt at times last year, only to succumb to the reality of weak demand and lower steel production.

The role of dealer resistance has had many ups and down over the last decades. At times dealer resistance to ferrous scrap pricing was justified and had positive effects on prices.

The US scrap market has begun forming for December shipment and prices seem to be sagging so far.

The ferrous scrap market hasn’t settled yet for December, but sources say mills are looking to push scrap prices down.

The ferrous scrap markets both here and abroad are displaying a definite lack of enthusiasm as we head into the holiday season.

Wolfe Research's Managing Director Timna Tanners discusses the 'Trumplications' for steel in the coming year in this week's SMU Community Chat.

The price spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap narrowed marginally in October, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

Steel sheet and plate prices moved lower this week as efforts among some mills to hold the line on tags ran up against continued concerns about demand.

The price spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap widened again in September, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

Great Lakes-area mills have entered the September ferrous scrap market in a surprisingly prompt manner.

Leading industry analysts on Monday discussed steel prices and how they will be impacted by trade policy, consolidation, mill discipline, November’s elections, and more.

Lead times for hot-rolled coil and plate have moved out a little, according to our latest survey data. Brett Linton has the details here. I think that might reflect some restocking and a host of fall maintenance outages – many of which are happening in September/October. But lead times aren't galloping away like some of the more bullish corners of the market might have hoped. And those for cold-rolled and coated products are largely unchanged.

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.

I thought we’d have more clarity this week on Section 232, Mexico, and a potential carve-out for steel melted and poured in Brazil. As of right now, the only official comment I have is from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices  narrowed for the third consecutive month, hitting a level not seen since 2020, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices has narrowed for the second consecutive month, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

Here’s something I didn’t expect to see this week: SMU’s Current Buyers’ Sentiment Index dropped to its lowest point since August 2020.

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

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

Are we still looking for a bottom on sheet prices? In what direction are steel and scrap prices headed? How’s demand holding up at the moment?

The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices has narrowed for the third consecutive month in March, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

What's the steel market talking about at present?

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