As we enter the summer months, the ferrous
scrap market in the US is still going strong, with prices holding firm since last month.
The average price for HMS 1
scrap still ranges from $240 /long ton to $250 /long ton ($244 /mt to $254 /mt), while the average price for HMS 2 is still around $230 /long ton to $240 /long ton ($234 /mt to $244 /mt).
Busheling and shredded prices have also maintained their firm pricing levels since last month, while we saw auto bundles go up by about $15 / long ton ($15.20 / mt) at the end of June.
The domestic pricing trend is still up this July, as demand for steel
production is still robust, and inventories are still relatively slim.
In August, we will probably see a small pricing fallout as inventories grow with summer time
scrap collection. However, experts predict that the drop in pricing will only be slight.
In contrast to the domestic market, the export market is still flat. The pricing trend for export
scrap sales (A combination of HMS 1 and HMS 2 is the most common export grade from the East Coast.) is now neutral to slightly down. There have been some recent inquiries from Mediterranean countries
Turkey,
Greece, and
Egypt, and on the West Coast,
Taiwan, but the Northeast Asian market is still quiet. On the whole,
scrap exports are down from last year, as buyers worldwide are holding back on ordering as they wait for the chance that high US
scrap prices might go down. However, as the head of a major US
scrap supplier told SteelOrbis about lackluster export sales, “This situation could change overnight.”
Turkey is currently the largest consumer of HMS 1 and HMS 2 grade
scrap from the US, importing a whopping 369,000 mt of these two grades in the first four months of the year (The most recent
scrap export data available). The second largest importer of HMS 1 and 2 during the same time period is
China, with 98,000 mt; followed by
Taiwan, at 82,000 mt;
Egypt, at 69,000 mt; and
Mexico, at 68,000 mt.
During the month of April 2006,
Turkey was the largest recipient of HMS 1 and 2
scrap from the US, at 72,000 mt; followed by
Taiwan, at 54,000 mt; and
Egypt, at 37,000 mt.
As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the most recent booking from a Turkish mill for HMS 1/2 (80:20) ex-US was for $288 /mt ($283 /long ton) CFR Nemrut, to be shipped in the second half of August.