• Skip to main content

    Analysis

    September 16, 2025

    Final Thoughts

    Written by Ethan Bernard & Stephen Miller

    The nature of the scrap industry is taking what’s used and repurposing it for something new. In fact, the recent rebranding from “scrap” to “recycled materials” highlights that process. And we may have pointed out a few times that steel is the most recycled material in the world.

    In that same spirit, we are trying to repurpose something else: data. We all have it. Lots of it. And it no longer lives in file cabinets or ledger books. It’s all digitized, waiting for someone or something to repurpose it in novel and interesting ways that yield new insights and processes.

    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.

    Read more from Ethan Bernard

    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.

    Read more from Stephen Miller

    Latest in Analysis