August has been basically a quiet month in terms of movements in the scrap market in Germany, partly because most European countries, including Germany itself, have slowed down their activities for summer holidays and annual plant maintenance.
As a consequence, both scrap demand and scrap inflow in Germany have remained low. According to one source, “Both old scrap and new scrap generation have been at minimal levels in August,” but still enough to meet demand from consumers. Scrap purchase prices of mills have indicated a slight downward correction compared to last month, down €3-6/mt in the regions that concluded scrap purchases in August. The quiet market and the price correction are not only due to the traditional summer lull, the economic and industrial situation in Germany remains difficult. One source commented, “The manufacturing sector recorded its lowest month-on-month drop since May 2020, when production collapsed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic”. Market sentiment is becoming more and more worried about the future, and many steel and metal associations are taking action to address external threats. As SteelOrbis reported earlier, the German CCI-Steel Alliance, representing major steel producing regions across Germany, has urged the European Union to strengthen its trade defense measures against the disruptive impact of global steel overcapacity, particularly from Asia, and has proposed a reform program in this regard. In addition, two of the major German scrap associations, i.e. BDSV (Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen) and VDM (Verband Deutscher Metallhändler und Recycler) have decided to join forces in a merger that, if approved by their respective members, will become effective in 2027. This news represents a “great opportunity to have a stronger voice in the metal industry”, one of the parties claimed.
As for prices, mills have purchased E3 on average at €300-310/mt DAP, and E8 on average at €305-315/mt DAP. In the northern and eastern part of the country scrap purchase prices have been reduced by €3-6/mt, whereas one consumer in the southwest bought scrap at levels €5/mt lower compared to the previous month. In the west and south of Germany prices have remained mostly unchanged, particularly in the south where summer shutdowns were more pronounced due to the influence of neighboring countries such as Italy, where the market remained silent in August. Due to this imbalance, BDSV’s prices this month show some discrepancies due to the absence of market interviewees in the southern part of Germany.
According to the latest data provided by Bundesvereinigung Deutscher Stahlrecycling-und Entsorgungsunternehmen e.V, in the first 20 days of August scrap prices decreased by a range of €7.2-7.9/mt for E1 and E40, whereas they increased by a range of €4.4-10.1/mt for all other grades. On year-on-year basis, the scrap prices fell by between €42.5/mt and €69.9/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: August 2025 (€/mt) | Price: July 2025 (€/mt) | Price: August 2024 (€/mt) | M-o-m change (€/mt) | Y-o-y change (€/mt) |
| E1 - Old steel scrap | 231.2 | 238.4 | 301.1 | -7.2 | -69.9 |
| E2/E8 - New steel scrap | 290.7 | 282.2 | 352.7 | +8.5 | -62.0 |
| E3 - Heavy old steel scrap | 284.4 | 280.0 | 342.7 | +4.4 | -58.3 |
| E40 - Shredded scrap | 277.8 | 285.7 | 344.4 | -7.9 | -66.6 |
| E5M - Steel turnings | 240.1 | 230.0 | 282.6 | +10.1 | -42.5 |
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