US scrap market stalls as mills delay August pricing

The US domestic scrap market seemed to get off to a fast start on Tuesday, but things have begun to get drawn out again as mills are still considering August pricing. Several of the larger multi-mill buyers have not officially settled.

Several districts have settled at mixed numbers. The price tags in the Northern Ohio and Pittsburgh area markets have seen HMS fall $20 per gross ton (GT) with shredded scrap trailing at down $10/GT. The prime grades and P&S held sideways. In the Detroit district, there was no change on Busheling and P&S, but shredded dropped $10/GT.

The markets in the Southeast, Texas, and Chicago are still not determined at this time but are expected to weaken for secondary grades; it’s just a matter of how much. Prime scrap is expected even from July.

On the export front, another cargo has been sold to Turkey from the US East Coast at $375/metric ton CFR. This maintained the general price level of other cargoes sold previously. Exporters have turned down Turkish bids at lower numbers.

Pig iron market

Pig iron sourcing from Brazil has stalled since the tariffs were lifted. SMU spoke with Brazilian sources, who all said there have been no sales to the US for the last two weeks, despite reports to the contrary. There has been some activity from India, but shipments from Ukraine, the second largest supplier to the US, have stalled due to a rise in hostilities in the Black Sea. There are reports from Brazil that several producers are reducing production due to the lull in US mill buying.

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.