Ferrous Scrap

HRC, prime scrap spread narrows in April

Written by Ethan Bernard & Stephen Miller

April 11, 2025

The price spread between hot-rolled coil (HRC) and prime scrap narrowed in April after widening since January, according to SMU’s most recent pricing data.

SMU’s average HRC price is down week over week (w/w) and month over month. The April price for busheling also declined from March.

Our average HRC price as of April 8 stands at $905 per short ton (st) FOB mill, east of the Rockies. That’s off $10/st from a week earlier and down $45/st m/m.

At the same time, busheling tags also fell m/m in April. They are down $20.00 per gross ton (gt) from last month, with an average of $455/gt. 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 was $499/st as of April 11. That’s a decrease of $27/st from a month earlier (Figure 2). The spread had continually widened since standing at $317/st in mid-January.

What’s going on?

It’s no secret that #1 busheling dropped by $20/gt for April. This was less of a decrease than many expected.  

The news on tariffs on direct-reduced iron (DRI) and pig iron bolstered busheling prices since these low-residual additives replace busheling in the EAFs. Going forward, busheling should stay firm.  

If HRC goes back up in price, we can expect further narrowing of the spread..

HRC premium as a percentage

The chart on the right-hand side below shows the spread relationship differently: We have graphed HRC’s premium over busheling scrap as a percentage. HRC prices now have a 99% premium over prime scrap, edging down from 100% a month ago.

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.

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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.

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