Ferrous

Scrap recyclers in April were reporting a better match between flow into their yards and demand from mills, a situation that was reflected in an easing back of per-ton prices for ferrous scrap.

After four straight months of progressively higher prices, North American mills in general paid from $20 to $40 less per ton for ferrous, according to figures compiled by the Raw Material Data Aggregation Service (RMDAS) operated by Management Science Associates’ (MSA), Pittsburgh.

Many ferrous shippers say the downturn was not surprising, and that they could see it coming after an unusually hectic March. Part of the March upturn (which saw per ton pricing rising by as much as $80 in some regions) was blamed on one Midwestern mill in particular that found itself bidding prices up in a frantic bid to build up its inventory after running perilously close to running out of feedstock.

Additionally, waves of harsh weather in several parts of the country curtailed scrap flows just as domestic mills were aggressively entering the market to obtain feedstock and as several large export orders were being filled.

Some of those same circumstances existed in April, but not to the same extent as in March. Obsolete scrap flowed much better in early April in most parts of the country, although a late snowfall again disrupted some truck traffic.

"The word on the street is out there and scrap of all types—ferrous and nonferrous—has been flowing in real well," says one Pennsylvania recycler.

In the parts of the country where construction and demolition activity is more seasonal, April witnessed the start-up of a few more projects and job sites, which should help produce more scrap on that front.

Industrial scrap flows remain problematic, say many recyclers. The automotive industry remains tepid and appliance manufacturing is similarly lukewarm because of the slower housing market.

For ferrous scrap shippers, even in a month where prices dropped some $20 to $40 per ton, the challenges seem to remain on the supply side, as willing buyers from North America and beyond remain very much in the market.

(Additional news about ferrous scrap, including breaking news and consuming industry reports, is available online at www.RecyclingToday.com.)