Ferrous Scrap

RMU: Ferrous scrap mills have entered September market

Written by Stephen Miller

September 5, 2024

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

Mills in Detroit have reportedly bought scrap sideways from August, with the exception of shredded scrap, which fell $20 per gross ton.

The prices aligned with various trade projections, except for plate and structural (P&S) and HMS, which appeared to be undervalued given their stronger performance.

In speaking with a large scrap seller in the Midwest, he said Chicago has not officially bought yet and since mills there are going to buy scrap at a near-normal level, the prices Detroit paid may not play well in Chicago.  

There is doubt shredded can go down very much in the Midwest, even with upcoming outages. The next several days will determine whether prices can drop at all.  

Editor’s note: This column appeared first in Recycled Metals Update (RMU), SMU’s new sister publication. RMU is devoted entirely to the ferrous and nonferrous recycled metals markets. If you’d like to learn more, visit RMU’s homepage and register for a free 30-day trial.

Stephen Miller

Stephen Miller started his career in the scrap metal industry in 1978 at Luria Brothers in Cleveland. Over the last 40+ 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 Ferrous Scrap