US scrap market mostly settles up $20-30 for February

The US domestic scrap market is largely settled on February pricing. Despite poor weather conditions that have been wreaking havoc on scrap flows and deliveries to consumers, the pricing initially agreed between dealers and steelmakers has been fairly conservative. Sources have reported to SMU there are logistical problems with trucking and barge shipments, and it remains to be seen if these scrap prices can bring out enough scrap to satisfy relatively heavy demand.

Several sources across districts report February prices are generally up $30 per gross ton (gt) across the board compared with January tags. Some buyers dipped their toes into the market at only up $20/gt. This was quite surprising since the scrap industry has been facing the worst weather conditions in several years. Most dealers ignored the slight, countered with a plus $30 offer, and concluded.