Ferrous Scrap Prices Forecast to Drop $10 to $20 per ton

Ferrous scrap prices for October, which a couple of weeks ago were being forecast to move sideways (no change), are now looking as though they will drop $10 to $30 per gross ton.  The Midwest and Southeast are expected to see the least price movement while those areas associated with exports (such as the East Coast) will be hit harder.

The issue is not that business at the domestic steel mills is slowing. The issues are more international in nature as the U.S. dollar has been appreciating thus making U.S. scrap exports more expensive. But, it is not the dollar alone that is impacting scrap exports. According to a recent report from Mike Marley of MetalPrices.com, competition from cheap Chinese semi-finished steels (such as billet) have altered demand in such places as Turkey, one of the key importing countries of U.S. scrap.