Ferrous Scrap

November ferrous scrap tags land a soft sideways

Written by Ethan Bernard

November 14, 2024

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Ferrous scrap prices were largely rangebound to down at the November settle, market sources told SMU.

One source said, “There were a few isolated areas that edged down, but most regions went sideways.”

SMU’s November scrap pricing stands at:

Busheling at $390-420 per gross ton (gt), averaging $405/gt, even with October.
Shredded at $375-400/gt, averaging $387.50/gt, down $2.50 from October.
HMS at $315-340/gt, averaging $327.50/gt, down $12.50 from October.

Recall that SMU reported that scrap prices inched up outside of Chicago and Detroit last month. This led many to believe the market had hit bottom.

A second source commented on the disparity, “Month-over-month price moves are explained by export pricing.” He noted tags dropped about $25/gt for 80/20 and shred to Turkey over the course of October.

Also, he said that US demand isn’t picking up strongly yet.

“I normally would say that’s just a seasonal matter, but I am concerned that it’s deeper than that,” he added.

He said Chinese billet is penetrating the Turkish market, there’s plenty of scrap available from Europe, and a large US scrap consumer is under orders to reduce scrap inventory by year’s end.

Commenting on the November trade, a third source remarked that any reduction in price would have been met with a decrease in tons offered for sale by scrap suppliers.

“Simply put,” he added, “Mills did not want to risk being short going into Dec./Jan. and paid sideways to maintain inbound pipeline flows.”

Outlook

Looking to next month, the second source said, “Most dealers I speak with call December sideways.”

The third source agreed, saying, “Expectations for December are decidedly sideways with the major market factors stable through the end of the year.”

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing 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.