• Skip to main content

    Prices

    December 20, 2023

    Miller on scrap: 2023 in review

    Written by Stephen Miller

    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. Ferrous scrap rose in Q1 from the lower prices we saw in Q4’22. It peaked in April as scrap flows recovered from winter hibernation.

    After April, prices started their slow and steady decline for the next six months, except for a brief rise for shredded in June. The price drop ended in October with prime scrap still falling and obsolescent grades trading sideways. After this, the market rose with emphasis on prime grades, largely due the automotive strike and increased mill demand after several outages in Q3 and Q4. Prices for imported pig iron bottomed in October, and this had a bullish effect on scrap prices, as prime grades rallied well over $120 per gross ton (gt).

    Stephen Miller

    Stephen Miller started his career in the scrap metal industry in 1978 at Luria Brothers in Cleveland. Over the last 40-plus years, he has worked in all capacities in the trading business. He has had positions in both domestic and international scrap trading. In addition to scrap, Miller was at the forefront of the pig iron trade and established a pig iron distribution company under the name of Ferrosource, Inc. Most recently, Miller has concentrated on the scrap export market and regularly does consulting for several companies in the industry.

    Read more from Stephen Miller

    Latest in Prices

    SMU Price Ranges rise on tight supply, no signs of a year-end slowdown

    Sheet and plate prices continue to move higher on trends now familiar across the flat-rolled steel market: long lead times, limited availability, and domestic mills seemingly struggling to keep up with demand. Some market participants voiced concern about a potential slowdown in data center construction in the wake of sweeping Democratic victories at both the state and federal level as well as popular sentiment turning against the centers. But no one we contacted saw such concerns impacting the direction of prices over the short term. Commodity grades of HR are hard to find. And finding some items – whether it’s floor plate or 72-inch-wide coil – has become even more difficult, one steel buyer said.

    Nucor ups spot HR coil to $1,295/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Nov. 9, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,295 per short ton (st) this week, up $15/st from the prior week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,365/st, also up $15/st from last week. Nucor continues to offer lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update (SMU) published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Nov. 3, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,350/st, up $45/st from the previous week. We will update our prices on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 10.

    Nucor temporarily halted secondary offers, rattling a tight US market

    Nucor opened its secondary and excess product bid list across all its flat-rolled mills last Monday, as it typically does, market participants told SMU. But by Wednesday, when bidding was scheduled to close, Nucor notified buyers it would not be awarding any bids that week. The abrupt close sent a shock through the secondary market, they said. “There will be no awards this week,” emails from Nucor sales representatives to customers confirmed. “Effective immediately, we are placing a temporary hold on all secondary sales.”

    Sheet prices surge as ’26 market squeeze spills into ’27

    Sheet prices soared this week as market participants increasingly predict that the strong market characterizing 2026 will stretch well into 2027. And with extremely limited spot availability, mills that have spot tons to sell are charging a significant premium, they said. The result: Sheet prices saw their highest week-over-week gains since March 2025, according to SMU's pricing records. That's when President Trump shocked the market by expanding Section 232 tariffs to cover traditional US allies such as Canada, Mexico, and the EU.

    Nucor increases spot HR to $1,280/ton

    Nucor said on Monday, Nov. 2, that its consumer spot price (CSP) for hot-rolled (HR) coil will be $1,280 per short ton (st) this week, up $10/st from last week. The CSP for HR coil from California Steel Industries (CSI) on the West Coast will be $1,350/st, also up $10/st from a week earlier. Nucor continues to offer lead times of three to five weeks, according to its letter to customers. You can track mill price announcements on our website. Steel Market Update published a weekly price assessment on Tuesday, Oct. 27, showing HR coil prices averaging $1,305/st, up $15/st from the previous week.