Sources close to SteelOrbis report that the scrap market settled today at approximately $20/mt down for cuts and shredded grades throughout the Ohio Valley, Midwest and Gulf regions. In an extreme case, a large national mill was heard to have obtained busheling at $40/down in two separate regions, but most traders report $30/mt down as the average move for busheling.
A consistent theme from market sources is the tight inventory control measures at mills. Mill purchasing agents mentioned several reasons to traders as the motivation for smaller scrap orders this buying cycle including weak economic indicators, potential automotive industry cuts that could have a domino effect and election concerns. Given the clear strategy, lower volume orders placed pressure on traders to agree to a drop in prices early in the trading period.
Below are the settled pricing for various regions in the US.
| September 12, 2016 (delivered to mill) | East Coast | Ohio Valley | Midwest | Gulf |
| HMS I | $178-183/mt ($175-180/gt) | $193-198/mt ($190-195/gt) | $208-218/mt ($205-215/gt) | $208-213/mt ($205-210/gt) |
| Shredded | $208-213/mt ($205-210/gt) | $224-229/mt ($220-225/gt) | $224-229/mt ($220-225/gt) | $224/mt ($220/gt) |
| Busheling | $208-218/mt ($205-215/gt) | $244-249/mt ($240-245/gt) | $234-239/mt ($230-235/gt) | $239-244/mt ($235-240/gt) |
| P&S | $188-193/mt ($185-190/gt) | $218-224/mt ($215-220/gt) | $221-224/mt ($218-220/gt) | $224/mt ($220/gt) |