Steel Products
US HRC, Busheling Scrap Price Spread Narrows in August
Written by Ethan Bernard
August 15, 2023
The spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap prices narrowed further this month, according to Steel Market Update’s most recent pricing data.
SMU’s average HRC price dropped, while busheling scrap tags ticked up slightly into a wider range.
Our HRC average price fell $15 per net ton week over week to $790 per ton ($40 per cwt) as of Tuesday, Aug. 8.
Busheling tags, however, increased $5 per gross ton from July to an average of $450 per gross ton for August. 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 $393 per net ton as of Aug. 14, down $100 from a month earlier. (Figure 2). This is the fourth consecutive month where the spread has narrowed.
By the way, did you know our 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 77% premium over prime scrap, off from 100% a month earlier.
Ethan Bernard
Read more from Ethan BernardLatest in Steel Products
Active rig count update through mid-May
Drilling activity ticked up in the US but declined in Canada during the week ended May 17, according to the latest release from Baker Hughes.
Mexico’s TYASA breaks ground on SBQ rolling mill
Mexican steelmaker Talleres y Aceros (TYASA) broke ground this month on the construction of a new special bar quality (SBQ) rolling mill in the state of Veracruz.
Biden hikes tariffs on Chinese goods, including steel and aluminum
The Biden administration announced a series of actions on Tuesday targeting China’s "unfair" trade policies. These actions will, among other things, make imports of steel and aluminum from the Asian nation even more prohibitive.
Nucor holds weekly HRC price steady after last week’s cut
Nucor chose to hold its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil steady this week after stunning the market last week with a significant price decline. The steelmaker said in a letter to customers on Monday morning that its $760-per-short-ton (st) CSP base price for HR coil is effective immediately. The price is unchanged from the CSP announced on May 6 but down $65/st from $825/st April 29.
US CR tags ease, premium over imports still high
Offshore cold-rolled (CR) coil prices remain much less expensive than domestic product, even as domestic prices have slipped to a six-month low, according to SMU’s latest check of the market.