Published by:Geoff Mattson<>
10 Apr 2025 @ 21:03 UTC

A Turkish mill secured a new bulk ferrous scrap cargo from the US East Coast at a steep discount amid continued pressure from lower domestic prices and weak deep-sea sentiment, marking the lowest confirmed US export sale since the end of February. The cargo, booked on Wednesday April 9 and confirmed by Fastmarkets on Thursday April 10, was sold to a mill in Turkey’s Izmir region. It comprised a 90:10 mix of No1 and No2 heavy melting scrap priced at $369 per tonne CFR, shredded scrap at $386 per tonne CFR and bonus material, also at $386 per tonne CFR. The HMS price equates to $366 per tonne CFR on an 80:20 basis, Fastmarkets understands. This represents a decline of $18.50 per tonne from the previous East Coast sale, booked on March 27 to a Marmara-region mill and containing HMS 1&2 (90:10) priced at $387.50 and plate and structural material at $402.50 per tonne CFR.
A seller active in both the export and domestic markets said the sale was not surprising, given current market weakness.
I actually thought it was a good sale, I mean considering what’s happening domestically, where cut grades were down $30 per [gross] ton or so depending on the region, the source told Fastmarkets.
The same source reported weaker inbound scrap volumes, saying, Our scrap flows are down… and we’ve had to adjust our prices because of that.
There were also reports on Thursday of a recent cargo sale off the US West Coast, but details of that could not be verified at the time of publication.
A market participant noted a buildup of shredded scrap on the West Coast, and while not all of this material is destined for the export market, a source said the presence of surplus shred has pressured local prices and limited room for additional material.
Sources on the West Coast indicated a different situation from the East Coast, where flows remain limited.
The flow is starting to move now, after it’s been really quiet all through the winter, one source said. They attributed the recent uptick to demolition activity: Some suppliers started to increase a bit here in the Northwest… demo companies are active again, and that’s pushed volumes up a lot in the last few weeks.