Lower scrap availability in the local German market has caused ex-warehouse prices to increase in the first month of the year.
Moreover, according to what has been reported by local sources, scrap purchase price increases by mills have been recorded all over Germany. More specifically, in the northern part of the country, rises in prices by an average of €10/mt have been observed in January.
In the east of the country, higher prices by €10-15 €/mt have been registered, whereas in the west the initial increase of €5/mt later rose to €10/mt. In the southwest, scrap prices in January have increased by €10-15/mt, while scrap purchase prices in the south of Germany are up by €10/mt amid the better demand coming from this region.
Scrap prices in neighboring countries, i.e. Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland have risen by €10-15/mt.
Despite the higher levels registered in the German scrap market in January, the economic and industrial scenario in Germany remains fragile. According to WV Stahl, crude steel production in the country totaled 34.1 million mt in 2025, one of the lowest levels recorded - also seen during the 2009 global financial crisis - since the reunification of Germany. Capacity utilization fell below 70 percent, a level regarded as critical for the energy-intensive steel sector.
Market players remain cautious, but a slight optimism in terms of better demand is emerging in European steel markets, driven by the perspective that CBAM and the new quotas on imports to be introduced in July this year will lower the volumes of steel coming from non-EU countries.
Having said that, the increases observed by BDSV in the first 20 days of January are in the range of €7.3-15.6/mt. On year-on-year basis, scrap prices fell by between €6.3/mt and €21.4/mt.
The prices are provided by Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V. and are average prices for domestic transactions across Germany in the first 20 days of the given month.
| Scrap grade | Price: January 2026 (€/mt) | Price: December 2025 (€/mt) | Price: January 2025 (€/mt) | M-o-m change (€/mt) | Y-o-y change (€/mt) |
| E1 - Old steel scrap | 249.5 | 236.1 | 261.3 | +13.4 | -11.8 |
| E2/E8 - New steel scrap | 290.8 | 282.5 | 305.4 | +8.3 | -14.6 |
| E3 - Heavy old steel scrap | 279.8 | 272.5 | 301.2 | +7.3 | -21.4 |
| E40 - Shredded scrap | 285.0 | 269.4 | 302.0 | +15.6 | -17.0 |
| E5M - Steel turnings | 244.4 | 233.8 | 250.3 | +10.6 | -6.3 |
Specifications:
E1 - Old steel scrap: thickness ≥ 4 mm, maximum dimensions 1.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m
E2/E8 - New steel scrap: maximum dimensions 1.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m
E3 - Heavy old steel scrap: thickness ≥ 6 mm, maximum dimensions 1.5 m x 0.5 m x 0.5 m
E40 - Shredded scrap: excluding incinerator steel scrap and collection scrap; density ≥ 1,1 mt/m3, Fe ≥ 92%
E5M - Turnings: excluding iron and automatic steel turnings
As for Poland, higher requests are coming from the local market and so fewer volumes are available for the export market. According to one source, local mills’ scrap purchase prices in January have increased by €15-25/mt depending on the scrap quality. “Local mills are paying higher levels and have reduced their quality requests even to get some volumes, so it’s not a good time right now to sell from Poland,” a scrap exporter commented.
