Scrap Prices North America
June 5, 2018
Mills to Pass Along the High Cost of Electrodes
Written by Tim Triplett
High graphite electrode prices will soon start to show up in the price of steel, reports West Coast scrap exporter Damon Sun of Daido International, who offers the following observations on the market:
“The Asian markets will likely take a back seat to U.S. scrap as mills start adjusting for the extremely high graphite electrode prices. In the past, there was a general formula from steel scrap to finished steel products of about $200-$220/mt melt and rolling costs. With the high graphite electrode prices, the increase in production is $50-$60/mt with a total variable cost of steel production from $200-$220 to $250-$270/mt. It is a substantial increase with EAF mills now focusing on prolonging the useful life of these electrodes.
