Analysis
February 19, 2026
US scrap export market loses steam
Written by Stephen Miller
The export scrap market from both North America and Europe has quieted down over the last week.
The last Turkish-borne cargo sold from the US East Coast was at $375 per metric ton (mt) CFR for HMS 80/20 on Feb 13, sources said. The sale was made at this level even though the US scrap market settled at up $20-30 per gross ton (gt) for obsolescent grades. This price was only slightly under the last cargo done earlier in February. But during this time there were no reported sales from Europe.
So, what’s going on?
SMU spoke with a European scrap trader. He said the reason is the weak pricing of rebar, which is Turkey’s main steelmaking grade. The rebar price has sunk well below $560/mt and does not to look to improve near term. He also said some production in Turkey has been stopped as high scrap prices have rendered rebar production not profitable. As a result, unless scrap prices come down, they will buy less.
There has been an uptick in Turkey’s purchases of billets, mainly from China and Russia. These purchases land in Turkey at prices in the range of $465-470/mt CFR. However, they will not arrive until later in the spring. So, Turkey will still need to import scrap during this time.
It is debatable if Turkish import prices can fall in the coming month. There are several factors that favor prices just going sideways in the near future.
In the US, it is not certain scrap prices will drop in March. Maritime freights to Turkey from North America have recently increased to approximately $40/mt from the mid-$30s. Also, the strengthening of the euro vs. the US dollar has hurt scrap exporters from Europe. These headwinds for Turkish scrap importation may cause US-based export terminals to keep most of their material domestically, especially shredded and P&S.
Turkey is not the only buyer for export cargoes. Both Egypt and Italy remain active in the deep-sea arena. These countries have higher logistical costs than Turkey for US shipments. Their last pricing for higher HMS grades was in the $390-394/mt CFR range.
Closer to home, SMU spoke to a scrap executive in Mexico about potential activity there. He said things in the Mexican market are now the most active they’ve been in one to two years.
Demand for scrap has spiked upward due increased rebar production. Regarding scrap imports, he believes Mexico will start to return to that market and this trend should continue for the rest of the year. He also noted there will be new steelmaking capacity coming online in Q2.
On the West Coast, scrap prices have firmed further. The Taiwanese and Vietnamese import prices for HMS 80/20 have risen to about $320-325/mt CFR, which a solid $7-10/mt increase over the last reported levels. However, the $5-10/mt premium offered for shredded scrap is not enough for exporters to keep this grade from continuing to supply domestic consumers to the east.
