Published by: Christian Willbern<>
12 Mar 2025 @ 20:55 UTC

US alternative irons prices were steady in the week to Wednesday March 12, as the US ferrous scrap trade lingered well into its second trading week amid tariff uncertainties, sources told Fastmarkets.

The trade largely wrapped up on Wednesday, with primes trending largely up by $30 from February purchases and cut grades also trading largely up by $20-25 depending on the region.
Hamilton and Montreal domestic scrap markets are still outstanding for March.
[The US tariffs] are an ongoing debate with different opinions and theories that’s creating a pause in any pricing strategy, a US scrap source said on March 5.
I’ve talked with three different mills, [and each] have three different ideas on how this will play out and they all make sense. Now, there is maybe a pause in amending tariffs, they continued.
This preceded a 24-hour trade battle between the US and Canada from Tuesday March 11 through Wednesday, in which US President Donald Trump threatened to increase tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50% after Ontario Premier Doug Ford imposed a 25% surcharge on energy exports to the US.
According to major media outlets, Trump reportedly stepped back from doubling Canadian import tariffs early in the morning on Wednesday, after Ford suspended the 25% energy export surcharge late Tuesday evening.
Throughout the first half of March, US tariffs on Canadian imports were imposed, then suspended until April, later threatened again and eventually walked back, Fastmarkets understands.
This comes as US Midwest hot-rolled coil breached the $45 per hundredweight mark ($900 per short ton) on March 4, surpassing February 2024 levels, sources told Fastmarkets.
US Midwest HRC prices have remained steadily within the $45-47 per cwt range since March 4 amid anticipated volatility surrounding the US tariffs, sources told Fastmarkets.
Fastmarkets’ daily steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest edged down slightly to $46.78 per cwt ($935.60 per short ton) on Tuesday, down from $46.88 per cwt on Monday March 10, but up from $45.08 per cwt a week earlier.
Though no new low-phosphorus pig iron deals were heard in the week to Monday, two high-phosphorus deals were heard to have been concluded around $470-475 per tonne CIF New Orleans, according to US pig iron sources.
The deals would be roughly $5-15 than the last heard high-phosphorus pig iron sales.
However, due to a lack of market liquidity, pig iron basic grade, Brazil, fob New Orleans and pig iron basic grade, Ukraine/Russia, fob New Orleans prices stood at $475-515 per tonne on Monday, unchanged from the prior week.
Brazilian foundry pig iron prices were stable in the week to Wednesday, following basic pig iron price movements. But sources noted an uptick in demand, following the fulfilment of the EU quota on Russian pig iron.
The Russia quota is filled, so EU demand is up, a US pig iron source said.
There was a foundry shipment there, just one cargo, though. That’s what it’s like during normal times, but who knows what’s going to happen later on, they continued.
No prices, tonnages or expected times of shipment were reported, and no US sales were heard in the week to Monday.
As a result, pig iron foundry grade, Brazil, fob New Orleans stood at $565-585 per tonne on Monday, flat from March 3.
Hot-briquetted iron prices were also stable this week amid a lack of fresh market activity, sources told Fastmarkets.
I haven’t heard of any new deals, the US pig iron source said.
As a result, hot-briquetted iron, fob New Orleans was unchanged at $400-435 per tonne on Monday.