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    November 13, 2024

    US buyers drive down pig iron prices amid pressure

    Written by Stephen Miller

    The pig iron markets have retreated over the last two months amidst a concerted effort by US-based buyers to drive down prices to more closely follow the lower domestic scrap prices. Pig iron prices had resisted the downward pressure this year that had plagued ferrous scrap. This is largely due to the sanctions on shipments from Russia and serious reductions of Ukrainian material.

    Only over the last month or so have the US mills been successful in sourcing at reduced pricing. With the weakness in Southeast Asia on all ferrous materials, US buyers were able to source pig iron from India at fairly lower price tags. This caused Brazilian producers to succumb to price levels as low as $10-15 per metric ton (mt) under their offer prices from South Brazil. It is questionable if US mills can reliably source from India in the quantities they need at workable prices. So, they need to keep Brazilian pig iron actively shipping to the US. The Brazilians need to sell to the US as their main market. However, Europe could be another possible market going into 2025.

    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.

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