October has been a very quiet month for the local German scrap market, while scrap price declines have been greater than initially anticipated by SteelOrbis, according to BSDV’s monthly report.
Scrap demand from mills has been declining since the end of the summer holidays, driven by exceptionally scarce demand coming from the finished steel segments. According to previously reported data, crude steel production in Germany declined by 11.9 percent to 22.41 million mt in the first eight months of this year, and media reports show that industrial production in the country has also declined in the first and second quarters of 2025.
Plants’ capacity utilization rates remain on the low side, and most market players believe that this year has essentially come to an end. One source reported to SteelOrbis that he believes scrap prices in Germany will stabilize until the end of the year, as no major movements are expected in the market from now on.
Official data from BDSV show that ex-warehouse E1 reference scrap prices have been declining for the fourth month in a row, and they have now lost slightly more than €40/mt since January.
In the meantime, slightly higher demand has been observed from the export markets compared to September, but scrap flows to export destinations have not been enough to relieve the downward pressure on prices in the local German scrap market.
According to the latest data provided by Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V, in the first 20 days of October scrap prices decreased by a range of €7.2-17.8/mt for all grades. On year-on-year basis, scrap prices fell by between €31.2/mt and €54.7/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: October 2025 (€/mt) | Price: September 2025 (€/mt) | Price: October 2024 (€/mt) | M-o-m change (€/mt) | Y-o-y change (€/mt) |
| E1 - Old steel scrap | 220.3 | 227.5 | 267.9 | -7.2 | -47.6 |
| E2/E8 - New steel scrap | 268.5 | 281.8 | 310.3 | -13.2 | -41.8 |
| E3 - Heavy old steel scrap | 252.6 | 270.4 | 311.2 | -17.8 | -54.6 |
| E40 - Shredded scrap | 256.0 | 268.9 | 310.7 | -12.9 | -54.7 |
| E5M - Steel turnings | 224.8 | 263.3 | 256.0 | -11.5 | -31.2 |
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
