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    Analysis

    May 12, 2026

    Final Thoughts: Summer scrap primer

    Written by Ethan Bernard & Stephen Miller

    The US ferrous scrap market in May has taken longer than usual to settle. This underscores a larger point: What trends should we watch out for this summer?

    SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price ticked up again this week. This is just the latest in a seven-month price rally. Back on Jan. 6, our average HR coil price stood at $930 per short ton (st), according to our interactive pricing tool. As of today, that price is $1,080/st. We saw a slew of steelmakers post great profits in the first quarter. Will the demand hold through the summer?

    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-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.

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