Analysis
May 19, 2026
Ferrous scrap mart poised for sideways move in June?
Written by Stephen Miller
SMU spoke with several market players around the country regarding the ferrous scrap market in June, with many sources seeing next month as broadly sideways.
We heard from two traders in the Ohio and Pennsylvania districts.
The first trader said he thought scrap flows, especially prime flows, have decreased somewhat and demand is increasing in his region. The ever-increasing cost of fuel and energy-related expenses is starting to have an effect.
He had this to say about the market: “It should go up in June, but it won’t.”
The trader believes the larger mill-owned brokers will influence the market’s direction and sideways will be the likely outcome.
Another trader in this area also expressed concern about freight rates, saying most scrap buyers aren’t factoring in these increased costs when they decide on their delivered prices. He did say, though, that scrap flows seem decent.
A mill source in the same region told SMU scrap flows, at this point, are off a bit. If demand continues to rise, he said, “Pending a couple of outages, I think there is a case for scrap prices to rise soon.”
He added it would depend upon where steel prices go in June.
A recycling executive in the Southeast said he does not see anything so far this month that could change prices going into June. He viewed scrap flows as good and noted the export market for containerized shredded scrap was dead from ports in the Southeast.
Regarding prime scrap, he said it is possible for an increase but, in general, the market looks sideways.
Heading west, the Texas market is showing no signs of weakness or strength, according to a recycling executive there. The expectation is a sideways June market right now.
The same goes for the market in Chicago and the Midwest. This market went sideways in May except for #1 HMS and mixed steel turnings (MST), which moved down $10 per gross ton (gt). Sellers in this region do not expect further reductions in June.
