Scrap Prices North America

HRC vs. busheling scrap spread narrows in February

Written by Ethan Bernard

February 15, 2024

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

SMU’s average HRC price dropped this week, while the average price for busheling scrap also slumped from January.

Our average HRC price stands at $940 per short ton (st) as of Feb. 13, off $ $40/st from a week prior.

Meanwhile, busheling tags decreased $35 per gross ton month over month to an average of $455/gt in February. Figure 1 shows price histories for each product.

After converting scrap prices to dollars per short ton for an equal comparison, the differential between HRC and busheling scrap prices is $534/st as of Feb. 15, down $54 from a month earlier (Figure 2). This is the narrowest spread since October of last year when it stood at $338/st.

By the way, did you know SMU’s Interactive Pricing Tool has the capability to show steel and scrap prices in dollars per short 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 107% premium over prime scrap, down from 109% a month ago.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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