Analysis
June 9, 2026
Scrap export prices hold firm despite Turkish pressure
Written by Stephen Miller
The bulk deep-sea export market in the Atlantic Basin has not shown much movement lately. Buyers in Turkey have limited their activity in an attempt to bring prices down in both the US and Northern Europe. However, this does not seem to be working to a significant extent.
SMU spoke with a scrap trader in the European market who expressed skepticism about Turkey’s strategy to reduce prices. He indicated offers by steelmakers in Turkey to suppliers in Northern Europe at $390 per metric ton CFR for HMS 80/20 have been turned down. Likewise, offers to US terminals at $395/mt have also been rejected. “Everyone knows they have to buy soon,” he added.
He also mentioned that potential buyers in Italy are interested in buying. They seem to be waiting to see how Turkey makes out. He doubts this is their best posture in today’s market.
Another European source noted that collection costs have remained elevated. This, coupled with high freight charges and improved domestic demand, is making things difficult for Turkey. He said Turkish mills did buy a few cargoes at slightly lower prices, but there is no room for further reductions. He said, “If there were room, the Turks would win this round, but there is no room.”
A US-based scrap executive agrees that offers from Turkey cannot really go down. The current offers from suppliers on the US East Coast are $406-410/mt CFR for HMS, plus an additional $20/mt for shredded and bonus. He does not see the US domestic market weakening anytime soon.
The Turkish steelmakers do not have a very good alternative to buying scrap at these levels. Since rebar prices are stubbornly static, current scrap prices leave little or no room for profit. They could reduce production. In the past, the procurement of billets could mitigate the cost of ferrous scrap. However, the billet market has increased to the point where mills in Turkey can no longer use them to bridge the gap. Russian billets are trading at approximately $510/mt CFR Turkey vs. scrap at $397-406/mt.
As several market sources noted, ocean freight is a significant part of the export sales equation. SMU contacted an executive in the logistics department of a large scrap exporter. He said the trajectory is upward at this time. Over the last several weeks, freight has eased to the low $40s/mt on the USEC-to-Turkey route as more vessels have become available. But this is no longer the case, as scrap has competition from other bulk commodities. As a result, Handymax rates have climbed back into the mid-$40s and could continue to rise, further complicating Turkish efforts to keep prices under control.
Over on the US West Coast, the export market is not looking as strong. SMU spoke to an exporter in the containerized arena. He said the latest workable sales price to Vietnam and Taiwan was in the area of $357-358/mt CFR CY, even though US-based suppliers have largely not actually agreed to this price level. Lately, however, mill buyers in Taiwan have signaled they want to lower prices to $345/mt. Vietnam would be maybe $5/mt higher, according to the source. “I wouldn’t even commit to $357,” he noted.
