Scrap trends sideways to down for Feb.: survey

Jan 28, 2013 | 05:21 PM | Sean Davidson

Tags  scrap, ferrous scrap, Sean Davidson

MONTERREY, Mexico — Early speculation about domestic ferrous scrap pricing points to a sideways-to-marginally-down market in February as participants wait for better cues on mill demand and scrap flows.

More than half of the respondents to an AMM survey of buyers, dealers and brokers said they expect a sideways-to-down-$10-per-gross-ton movement across various regions, while another 25 percent said the market could decline between $10 and $20 per ton.

Only a handful of sources said the market would show a strong sideways-to-up-$10 trend.

Sources said that price movements likely would be region-specific, with some areas such as the Ohio Valley expected to show a tad more weakness than others.

"Supply is good on prime (grades) and shred. I expect Cleveland pricing to be down $10 to $15 (per ton), with Chicago probably similar," a buyer for one steel producer said.

A buyer for a second steel producer offered an early read that fell outside of the general speculation. "Our feeling so far is down $20 (per ton) on primes and a bit more on shred," he said. "Demand for finished product is soft, and our order book was revised down twice in the past 10 days. It would be great if the (steel) price increases stick, but given that (one major steel producer) has not announced, and also, based on what we are hearing from our salespeople, customers aren’t believing it." ....