Prices
November 14, 2024
November ferrous scrap tags land a soft sideways
Written by Ethan Bernard
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.”
