Containerized ferrous scrap prices in the US West Coast (USWC) continued to increase slightly this week as HMS I/II 80:20 rose to $340-345/mt FAS Los Angeles (LA) port from $335-340/mt FAS port last week. The increases follow higher export prices to Eastern Asia. In India, the price of containerized shredded scrap ex-UK/EU rose to $420/mt CFR Nhava Sheva port from $397-400/mt CFR the previous week.
Pakistani scrap import prices remained largely stable this week, as USWC contacts reported that Taiwanese import prices for containerized ex-US HMS I/II 80:20 rose to nearly $360/mt CFR this week, up from $347-353/mt CFR the week before.
Yet there are differing opinions on whether the market fundamentals are propping up the USWC export market, or whether it is rising ocean freight costs and speculation surrounding that matter. In India, there is trepidation among buyers as Indian steel prices have fallen and the local currency has depreciated, while Pakistani contacts have reported to SteelOrbis that scrap restocking efforts are ongoing despite selective purchasing activity.
It is a similar situation in the USEC export market, where rising freight costs and speculation surrounding that have increased US-origin HMS I/II 80:20 export prices to Turkey, including a $5.5/mt bump this week to $410/mt CFR. Yet exporters have put a cap on scrap prices to docks, claiming that freight costs have gone up and will go up even more, hence the higher export prices to offset those increases. In that case, the cost of bulk freight from USEC to Taiwan has not exactly kept pace with the increases in export prices; it has grown to $46-49/mt CFR Turkey from $44-46/mt CFR the week before.
Containerized ocean freight costs from USWC have grown in the past week more significantly, though, with the freight cost of Los Angeles growing by $10/mt to $10-15/mt CFR Taiwan, San Francisco by the same amount to $15-20/mt CFR Taiwan, and from Seattle by the same margin to $20-25/mt CFR Taiwan.
In the USEC, containerized scrap prices to docks rose this week as they were lagging behind USWC prices, with the price of HMS I/II 80:20 increasing by $10/mt to $335-340/mt FAS New York (NY) port for material going to Pakistan, and shredded up by $10/mt to at $355-360/mt FAS port as well for material that will be shipped to Pakistan. As in the case of bulk, USEC exporters have not allowed price increases for containerized scrap to the docks.
USWC bulk prices
Bulk scrap prices to USWC docks have also, like USEC bulk scrap prices, been unaffected in the past week. HMS I has remained at $280/gt delivered LA export yard, while P&S 5ft at $290/gt delivered and shredder feed at $215-225/gt delivered. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the price of HMS I has trended sideways this week at $275/gt delivered export yard, P&S 5ft at $285/gt delivered, and shredder feed at $210-220/gt delivered.
Bulk scrap prices in the Pacific Northwest were also unchanged, with HMS I at $290/gt delivered Portland docks, P&S 5ft at $305-310/gt delivered, and shredder feed at $215-225/gt delivered. Houston contacts also reported no change to the docks’ prices this week, with HMS I at $320/gt delivered export yard and P&S 5ft at $340/gt delivered. In the case of Houston, the price of finished shredded material in bulk to the docks was heard at $380/mt delivered export yard.
