Scrap Iron Prices Down Slightly

Steel mills in the United States have been paying less on average for their ferrous scrap furnace charge for the second month in a row in November.

Scrap grades across all regions have declined by anywhere from $8 to $18 per ton. The biggest mover was a decline of $18 per ton for Prompt Industrial Composite grades in the North Midwest region. The least volatility was shown for #1 Heavy Melting Steel purchased by mills in the South, which declined an average of only $8 per ton.(Click here to view the prices -- November Prices)

Prices remain high by historic standards. According to data collected for the Raw Material Data Aggregation Service (RMDAS) of Management Science Associates, Pittsburgh, domestic mills paid an average of $306 per ton for the priciest Prompt Industrial Composite Grades.

November buying has witnessed mills in the RMDAS South region paying more per ton, on average, for Prompt Industrial Composite grades compared to mills in other regions. (Those wishing to see a map of the regions can go to http://rmdas.msa.com.)

The #2 Shredded Scrap grade (determined by RMDAS to contain more than .17 percent copper) is almost uniform in price across all regions. The grade averaged $277 per ton in the North Central/East region and $276 in the other two regions.

While mill buyers in the two Northern regions were paying an average of $253 per ton for the #1 HMS grade, buyers in the South paid only $245 per ton on average.

The Raw Material Data Aggregation Service (RMDAS) Ferrous Scrap Price Index is based on data gathered from a statistically significant compilation of verified ferrous scrap purchase transactions.

RMDAS is a service of Management Science Associates Inc. (MSA), Pittsburgh. Those seeking more information about RMDAS can contact MSA’s Ralph Pinkert at 773-588-1199 or via e-mail at RPinkert@MSA.com.