US ferrous scrap export prices slide; seasonal supply meets weak demand
Published by:Geoff Mattson<>
23 Apr 2025 @ 20:40 UTC

Three East Coast ferrous scrap sales emerged on Wednesday April 23 at lower prices, highlighting continued price pressure driven by abundant deep-sea availability, weak Turkish finished steel demand and growing competition from Chinese billet exports, which sources say are undercutting global steel markets. A US East Coast cargo comprising heavy melting scrap No1 and No2 in a 90:10 mix was purchased by a steel mill in the Izmir region at $328.50 per tonne CFR, equivalent to $325.50 per tonne on an 80:20 basis, with shredded scrap sold at $345.50 per tonne CFR.
A second East Coast deal was concluded with an Iskenderun-region mill at $330 per tonne CFR for HMS 1&2 (80:20), with shredded and bonus-grade scrap sold at $350 per tonne CFR.
A third East Coast transaction was confirmed done at $325 per tonne CFR for HMS 1&2 (80:20), with shredded and bonus-grade scrap sold at $345 per tonne CFR, reportedly sold to a buyer in the Iskenderun region.
These sales were concluded $1.50-6.50 per tonne lower than the most recent East Coast deal on Friday April 18, when an exporter sold HMS 1&2 (80:20) at $331.50 per tonne CFR to a Turkish mill.
The latest sales underline ongoing weakness in deep-sea prices and reinforce the downtrend in the Turkish domestic market.
Participants told Fastmarkets that deep-sea supply remains abundant, putting further strain on prices, while Turkish steelmakers are reducing finished steel offers in response to weak demand.
A US-based exporter attributed the decline to three key factors: seasonal supply increases, diminished buying interest and persistent macroeconomic uncertainty.
This is a case of seasonal supply meeting softened demand, the exporter said. Scrap flows typically rise in spring, but when they coincide with shrinking mill appetite and market instability, you get oversupply and price pressure, which is the case now.
Fastmarkets calculated its steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob New York at $301 per tonne on April 23, down by 8.42% week over week. The decline was based on the three cargoes that emerged on April 23 and the cargo purchased on April 18, with the drop partially offset by a decrease in freight rates from $30 per tonne to $27 per tonne.
Some market participants cited the US tariff environment as a drag on sentiment, though others said improving finished steel demand had begun to support renewed buying.
The Iskenderun mill that booked three deep-sea scrap cargoes sold some good volume of rebar and billet. It seems the decline in the scrap prices came to an end, a source said.
Another US exporter told Fastmarkets that the main pressure point remained the low price of Chinese billet.
I don’t think tariffs are the main issue, the exporter said.
The bigger problem is that China’s billet is so cheap, and Turkish mills need low scrap prices to stay competitive. On top of that, rebar demand remains weak and Turkey’s broader economic instability is making things worse. To stay afloat, Turkish buyers are pushing for lower prices, and now US exporters are trying to offload more material domestically, which is dragging down the domestic market as well. It’s not shaping up to be a good summer.
Chinese exporters have been active, with up to 300,000 tonnes of billet reported sold in recent weeks to Turkey and the Middle East.
Sources told Fastmarkets that Chinese billet is currently priced at $455-457 per tonne CFR.
Nine US-origin deep-sea sales have now been reported so far in April: eight from the East Coast and one from the West Coast.
Prices have declined from $382.50 per tonne CFR at the end of March to as low as $325 per tonne CFR for HMS 1&2 (80:20) in the latest transactions — a drop of $57.50 per tonne over the period.
The latest US West Coast deal, reported on April 18, was purchased by a mill in Vietnam at $347-348 per tonne CFR for HMS 1&2 (80:20) and $357-358 per tonne CFR for plate and structural (P&S) scrap. The transaction, concluded on Thursday April 17, was done at a discount to the prior West Coast sale to Bangladesh at $370-375 per tonne CFR, but sources noted lower freight rates to Vietnam likely influenced the pricing.
Fastmarkets’ weekly steel scrap HMS 1&2 (80:20), export index, fob Los Angeles rose by 1.48% week on week to $309.50 per tonne on Wednesday, from $305 per tonne on April 16. The increase was driven by the Vietnamese purchase, which was concluded at a lower CFR price than the earlier Bangladesh deal, but was supported by a freight differential of approximately $30 per tonne, with Vietnam freight estimated at around $38 per tonne.