The local German scrap market has not yet recovered from the holiday season and demand is still slow both from the local and export markets. Over the month of September, scrap flow has been on the low side, but currently it is increasing, exerting downward pressure on prices. This sluggish situation is mainly due to a general slowdown in production, especially in the automotive sector. Volkswagen, for example, is planning to close two of its plants and it seems one major German stainless steel producer is getting ready to close its furnaces.
At the same time, the pace of scrap collection is increasing, because the downtrend of scrap prices is causing collectors and sub-collectors to sell whatever they can as soon as possible before prices go down further. Currently, local market prices for shredded scrap are at €300/mt ex-works, and HMS I/II or E1 is at around €290/mt ex-works. According to sources, prices in the Netherlands have moved down from the last level reported, going from €295-297/mt CIF Amsterdam to €280-285/mt CIF Amsterdam. Due to low levels of water in rivers - which began to rise again this week because of rainfall in Germany - river freight charges had increased from €11/mt to €13-14/mt from Meinheim to Amsterdam. Consequently, margins have dropped across the supply chain.
As for price expectations, a source said he believes prices are set to decline in the first half of October, but they cannot go below $360/mt CFR Turkey. Starting from the second half of the month, prices should start to recover, because collection is stagnating at these levels, adding, “If prices remain stable in early October, collection will continue, otherwise there is no new flow." Another source said local prices will go down in October and that he thinks they may fall by around €15/mt.
According to the latest data provided by the Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V, in the first 20 days of September, scrap prices moved down by €24.7-34.7/mt month on month. The annual variation, instead, saw a decline ranging from €4.1/mt to €14.2/mt, except for the price of EM5 scrap which rose by €11.1/mt compared to September 2023.
The prices are provided by Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V. are average prices for domestic transactions across Germany in the first 20 days of the given month.
Scrap grade |
Price: September 2024(€/mt) |
Price: August 2024(€/mt) |
Price: September 2023 (€/mt) |
Monthly Change (€/mt) |
Annual change (€/mt) |
E1 - Old steel scrap |
271.3 |
301.1 |
285,5 |
-29.8 |
-14.2 |
E2/E8 - New steel scrap |
318.0 |
352.7 |
322,1 |
-34.7 |
-4.1 |
E3 - Heavy old steel scrap |
315.8 |
342.7 |
322,7 |
-26.9 |
-6.9 |
E40 - Shredded scrap |
319.7 |
344.4 |
328,2 |
-24.7 |
-8.5 |
E5M - Steel turnings |
256.1 |
282.6 |
245,0 |
-26.5 |
+11,1 |
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
