German Steel Recycling Association (BDSV) representatives have commented on the current situation in the industry at BDSV’s annual conference. BDSV stated that the German scrap industry is facing global bottlenecks and semiconductor chip shortages, despite strong domestic and international demand. Delivery bottlenecks should rather temporarily dampen the upswing in the German economy, while rising energy prices and raw material prices threaten to turn into a risk.
The representatives stated that German steel mills used more scrap this year due to the rising costs for carbon certificates and to compensate for the likewise sharp rise in iron ore prices. The high demand for scrap has met very tight supply, especially in the area of new scrap. Persistent delivery bottlenecks for intermediate products and steel led to production stops in the industry and thus to a reduced volume of new scrap. As a result, it was noted that the gap between the price of new and old scrap has widened.