On Friday, US domestic HSS producers announced yet another $2.50 cwt. ($55/mt or $50/nt) price increase, which has brought the current spot market price transaction range to $76.50-$78.00 cwt. ($1,687-$1,720/mt or $1,530-$1,560/nt), FOB mill. Sources in the Southeast have confirmed that once freight rates are added in, prices delivered into the Southeast are hovering “just shy of $80 cwt. ($1,764/mt or $1,600/nt).
“How much higher can prices go? This is absolutely insane,” a source commented. “When [prices] do start to kick back in the other direction, my only hope is that it happens slowly. Now it’s just a question of when that’s going to start.”
As in previous weeks, some fabricators continue to report they’re delaying projects for several months because they believe that prices will level out and start to retreat by the summer. “On the other hand, something radical will have to happen for prices to go down significantly within the next 3-4 months.”
And while some believed that prices could start to correct by the end of Q1, others note that scrap prices are projected to rise during next month’s buy cycle. The reason for the anticipated uptick is directly linked to this month’s “black swan” winter storm, which pummeled most of the South, Midwest and Northeast with ice and snow.