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    Final Thoughts

    September 24, 2026

    Final Thoughts: As steel prices soar, why is scrap still grounded?

    Written by Stephen Miller

    Many of my colleagues and other players in the recycled iron and steel industry have asked me why a projected increase in demand for scrap hasn’t been realized considering the increased electric arc furnace (EAF) capacity added or scheduled to be installed in the US. They note that despite a surge in steel prices and an increased melt rate, the price of ferrous scrap has only marginally improved.

    Over the last 30 years, there has been a proliferation of EAF steel mills constructed in the US that use ferrous scrap as their main melting stock. This growth in scrap-consuming steelmakers spawned predictions of dramatically increased demand for scrap. As more and more EAF mills came on line in the 1993-2004 time period, prices for scrap did increase by roughly $200 per ton from the depressed levels of the previous decades.

    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.

    Read more from Stephen Miller

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