Scrap mart feels bite of curbs in finished steel

Oct 05, 2012 | 02:26 PM | Lisa Gordon

Tags  steel prices, scrap prices, finished steel outages, Chris Prentice, Lisa Gordon

PITTSBURGH — Finished steel production outages are wreaking havoc on the domestic ferrous scrap market, with scaled-back melt schedules reducing mills’ scrap needs by at least 25 percent, market sources said.

Scrapyards with industrial accounts have reported an apparent slowdown in manufacturing, evidenced by the fact that prompt scrap flows into yards have subsided.

"Our largest industrial account, an auto stamper, is now sending 20 percent less than a couple of months ago," one southeastern source said.

A Pittsburgh source also noted reduced tonnage from his industrial accounts.

Mills are throttling back production in an effort to bring supply and demand into balance, but their discipline efforts vary: Some are taking a week or more for maintenance in October, while others are devoting only one week to rolling or melting four days per week.....