Scrap market sources close to SteelOrbis have confirmed that prime grade scrap prices in the US have settled up by $90/gt in Detroit, up $80/gt in Chicago, up $70/gt in the Ohio Valley, and by up $50/gt in the Northeast and Southeast.
This is vastly different than sources’ initial prediction that the market would settle up by approximately $30/gt on primes.
“It’s looking like all hell broke loose this month,” a source said. “At first people were talking up $20-$30/gt, then a couple days later we were hearing primes could be up by $40/gt, and now we’re seeing up $50-$90/gt.”
There were numerous factors that impacted scrap pricing this month, another source added.
“I think we saw a few things happen. I think mills took their inventories too low, I think rising HRC prices played a role, the holiday season was a factor, and I think a lot of people were worried that it would just take one big snowstorm to really mess things up, and no one wanted to be in a place where they’d run out of scrap,” he said. “We’re not going to see more scrap getting generated at these numbers, but I think sellers that might have held back at up $30/gt, are absolutely selling.”
Ohio Valley tentative settled numbers are listed in the chart below.
| Ohio Valley | December | November | Change |
| Delivered to customer | |||
| HMS I | $396-$406/mt | $366-$376/mt | up $30/mt |
| $390-$400/gt | $360-$370/gt | up $30/gt | |
| Shredded | $478/mt | $417/mt | up $61/mt |
| $470/gt | $410/gt | up $60/gt | |
| P&S | $457-$467/mt | $427-$437/mt | up $30/mt |
| $450-$460/gt | $420-$430/gt | up $30/gt | |
| Busheling | $513-$523/mt | $442-$452/mt | up $71/mt |
| $505-$515/gt | $435-$445/gt | up $70/gt |