Shredded & Busheling Scrap Settle Close to Par with One Another

Scrap prices for February deliveries to the domestic mills have settled in most areas of the country. In Chicago and the Upper Midwest we are seeing prices down from the previous month as #1 HMS (heavy melt scrap) is at $390 per gross ton, shredded scrap ranges from $400-$410 per gross ton (average $405) and #1 busheling is almost exactly the same as shredded coming in at $408-$412 per gross ton (average $410). Plate and structural scrap was reported to be $405 per gross ton in the Chicago area.

It is highly unusual for prime grades of scrap such as #1 busheling and bundles to sell at the same level as shredded scrap. Prime grades have lower residuals (metals such as copper which cannot be removed during the steel making process) this makes them more valuable to the domestic mills – especially sheet mills who try to minimize or eliminate residuals from their scrap mix in the furnace.