Contributor: Stephen Miller

The US reliance on foreign pig iron has led some to eye bringing production back to our shores.

The spread between domestic hot-rolled coil and prime scrap prices widened further in July, a trend that started back in September. It’s at its widest level since April 2022.

North American Iron Inc. has announced it has secured additional financing in order to advance its project to convert iron ore tailings into merchant pig iron.

The US scrap market has settled soft sideways in July, sources told SMU.

The scrap market for July is partially settled except for the three largest scrap buyers in the country.

SMU’s Current Sentiment Index for scrap increased in July as Future Sentiment slipped, according to the latest data from our ferrous scrap survey.

The scrap export market in both Europe and the US continued to decline after the activity of last week became confirmable.

The significant earthquakes in Venezuela could delay scrap exports, sources told SMU.

After the domestic scrap market wrapped up the first half of the year on a positive note, will July follow suit?

The export market off the US East Coast has been largely inactive over the last two weeks.

Sims Limited, formerly Sims Metal Management, raised its fiscal-year 2026 earnings guidance from its March 2026 estimate in an update on June 16.

There has been a pause this month in new pig iron transactions between Brazil and the US due to uncertainty around US tariffs.

The spread between domestic hot-rolled coil and prime scrap prices continued to widen in June, a trend that began in September.

The scrap market seems firm as we go into the midsummer month of July without too many changes from June.

One possible reason for the lull in activity is the ambiguity of the tariff treatment of Brazilian pig iron following an announcement last week from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) about Section 301 tariffs.

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’s Current Sentiment Index for scrap slipped in June, but Future Sentiment rose, according to the latest data from our ferrous scrap survey.

The US domestic ferrous scrap market started to form on Thursday.

Current scrap market sentiment is again divided as we enter the summer month of June.

The pig iron import market in the US continues its upward price movement.

Jefferson Shredding & Recycling LLC, Birmingham, Ala., is planning to install a shredder system at Outokumpu’s Calvert, Ala., stainless steelmaking facility, according to a recent press release.  

The export markets are generally showing an increased demand for scrap.

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.

The spread between domestic hot-rolled coil and prime scrap prices continued to widen in May, a trend that began in September.

Although price levels have been quite favorable recently in the Brazilian pig iron market, there does not seem to be enough production to keep the pipeline intact.

What might be in store for the ferrous scrap market this summer?

The May scrap market took much longer to settle than most players anticipated, but the results are mostly in.

The May scrap market in the US seems to be just finishing up its settle as of the writing of this article. Luckily, we have our latest ferrous scrap market survey to give us an insight before we release our prices article next week.

SMU’s Current and Future Sentiment Indices for scrap both fell in May, though they remain at elevated levels, according to the latest data from our ferrous scrap survey.

The export market on the North American East Coast has been firming after seeing a sale that climbed to $415.50 per metric ton (mt) CFR for HMS 85/15.