Ferrous Department

Forward Momentum

Ferrous scrap prices are inching upward, and dealers are hopeful that momentum in that direction is continuing to build.

Mills are increasingly buying their inventory on a month-by-month basis, according to one Midwestern scrap processor, and recent monthly shipments have been slightly larger in volume.

“I think mills have less inventory because they are not building up past what they perceive as being necessary,” says Don Zulanch, senior vice president for Cohen Brothers Inc., Middle-town, Ohio. “It’s too expensive to carry big inventories, so they are buying on a monthly basis.”

Although prices have still not pushed beyond the $100 per ton average price (according to American Metal Market), Zulanch says that scrap generation has been strong through much of the year.

“In this area, we’re having a lot of wrecking jobs—that has produced a lot of scrap in  the cut grades,” says Zulanch of his company’s operations in the Ohio River Valley area.

On the downside, many of the structures coming down are industrial facilities, though ones that Zulanch calls “really, old obsolete plants.” On the positive side, however, new ones are replacing them, he comments.

Industrial scrap generators have also continued to yield steady amounts.