Published by:Geoff Mattson<>
6 May 2025 @ 21:46 UTC

A steel mill in Turkey booked a recent ferrous scrap cargo from the US East Coast at higher prices, with the deal reflecting firmer seller sentiment and limited inbound flows to dockside yards. The cargo, confirmed by Fastmarkets on Tuesday May 6, was sold to a buyer in the Iskenderun region and comprised a mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap (80:20) priced at $338 per tonne CFR and shredded scrap at $358 per tonne CFR.
The exact booking date was not disclosed but was understood to have been concluded recently.
This represents an increase from the three East Coast sales confirmed on April 23, which were concluded at $325-330 per tonne CFR for No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap (80:20), with shredded scrap sold at $345-350 per tonne CFR, to buyers in the Izmir and Iskenderun regions.
Sources attributed the higher pricing to reduced scrap availability and increased resistance from exporters to discount further.
Flows just aren’t there right now, a US-based exporter told Fastmarkets. Export yards aren’t getting enough material at those lower numbers.
The same exporter added that it was more economical to ship domestically. At that point, you may as well load up a railcar and send it to a domestic mill instead of taking a loss to move it offshore.
Sources said the recent stabilization may indicate a potential market floor, though ongoing uncertainty in Turkey’s finished steel sector and weak global steel demand continue to weigh on the outlook.
Turkish mills were described as cautious and reluctant to make fresh deep-sea scrap purchases due to subdued rebar demand and limited finished steel sales, with some sources noting that short-lived upticks in export activity last week failed to improve overall sentiment.
Fastmarkets’ assessments of the steel scrap No1 heavy melt, export yard buying price, delivered to yard Philadelphia and the steel scrap No1 heavy melt, export yard buying price, delivered to yard New York increased by $5 per gross ton to $235 per ton on Monday May 5. The assessment of the steel scrap No1 heavy melt, export yard buying price, delivered to yard Boston was unchanged at $215 per ton, holding at its lowest level since July 27, 2020.