Contributor: Stephen Miller

The pig iron market is at a standstill since the last sale to the US several weeks ago.

The price spread between HRC and prime scrap has widened for a second month, based on SMU’s most recent pricing data.

A history of EAF steelmaking.

SMU’s Current and Future Sentiment Indices for scrap decreased this month, based on the latest data from our ferrous scrap survey.

A sampling of SMU scrap survey respondent answers from November.

The November scrap market in the US is appearing sideways across the board, according to several sources.

The pig iron market in Brazil saw some activity last week that could present some additional options to producers there, but at lower price levels.

The domestic scrap market will start to form as early as next week for November shipment, sources told SMU. Predictions as of now are neither very positive for an increase nor are they negative for a decrease.

US buyers want to drop pig iron prices to levels commensurate with the decline in prime scrap in their domestic market. Prime price shed $20 per gross ton (gt) in September and another $20/gt in October.

There has been renewed activity in the scrap export market in the Mediterranean Basin during the last week. Most of the activity occurred in Northern Europe and the Baltic regions with prices basically staying sideways to up slightly.

Since the October prices came out there have been a variety of speculative opinions on what the November looks like from several sources SMU regularly contacts.

The US scrap market finds itself in a familiar position as we progress into the final quarter of the year. 

NEMO Industries has announced a venture to build a pig iron plant in Louisiana. The plant will use advanced technologies, including integrating AI.

here has been considerable activity in the export scrap market in the Mediterranean Basin over the last 10 days. Prices have inched up after recovering from a brief dip in September. Prices range from...

SMU spoke with a large channel in Brazil who confirmed his company sold a cargo of 50,000 metric tons (mt) to a US buyer at $383/mt FOB Brazil. That's down $12/mt from the last cargo sold in September.

Most mills sought a drop of $20-40 per gross ton (gt) in busheling prices and a $20/gt dip for shredded and HMS. Despite efforts to buy cheaper, the busheling price settled at down only $20/gt.

Stephen Miller reports the US domestic scrap market is on the verge of setting prices for October, although wide-scale buying is still in progress.

In the Americas, the ongoing conversion to EAF melting is driving demand for prime grades of scrap and increased use of ore-based metallics

The ferrous scrap market is still searching for clues about the direction of the October market.

A compromise has been reached in the pig iron market, sources told SMU. Recall we reported US buyers were bidding $390 per metric ton (mt) FOB or less while sellers were holding sideways at about $400/mt.

There are divergent views among market participants about the direction of scrap prices as we head into October.

SMU uses ferrous scrap survey data to take AI out on a test drive.

There have been developments in the ferrous scrap export market in the Atlantic Basin over the past week that point to weakness in the near future.

The pig iron market in Brazil is currently in flux and there have been few, if any, confirmed cargoes transacted for the US.

When will we see prime scrap become scarce as the worldwide transition to EAF melting increases, especially for HRC production? It's a question I've been asked a lot. 

SMU’s current Scrap sentiment index increased this month while future sentiment declined, according to our latest ferrous scrap survey data.

The scrap market in the US for September shipment has started to settle, with busheling seen down so far.

The Brazilian-US pig iron market has remained quiet, market sources told SMU.

The export market is looking for direction based upon the latest scrap purchases from Northern Europe by Turkish steelmakers. The sentiment was looking bearish, but sellers may see it differently.

Thais Terzian, principal analyst at CRU, gave a presentation of Ore-Based Metallics(OBM), namely pig iron and direct-reduced iron (DRI), and how important they are to the global steel industry.