Good Day Everyone,
In a recent issue of Recycling Today magazine Brian Taylor wrote about the recent the influences that have seen small improvements in steel scrap markets. Here is a snippet from that article.
“After a difficult 2015 and a rough start to 2016, an early April price boost brought some good cheer to ferrous scrap recyclers just as they gathered in Las Vegas for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) 2016 Convention & Exposition. Panelists at the convention’s Ferrous Spotlight session, however, indicated there are still problems afflicting the steel and ferrous scrap sectors.
Namik Ekenci of the Turkish Steel Exporters Association, based in Istanbul, said the scrap market paid the price for iron ore’s ongoing price drop in 2015, as steelmakers in Turkey and elsewhere scaled back on their melt shop activities and instead bought low-priced steel billet to send directly to rolling mills.
Scrap prices that had remained above iron ore prices “put electric arc furnace (EAF) mills in a very difficult position,” remarked Ekenci, who said many responded by importing billets and slabs produced with cheaper iron ore in China, Russia and the Ukraine.
Ekenci said Turkish EAF mills are not subsidized and “operate on small profit margins” and will continue to turn to imported billets and slabs if scrap prices are considered too lofty. Importing billets “is profitable for us” he said on behalf of Turkish steelmakers.”
This reinforces our insight over the last several months as well as the current school of thought that says don’t expect the upward trend to continue. If you’ve been holding steel scrap waiting for a better price now is the time to move it.
Wayne Edwards